Daily London
Tonight, her family attended a menorah lighting ceremony at Bondi Pavilion, where hundreds of people gathered to pay their respects to the victims of the horrific incident.
Matilda’s mother was visibly emotional and spoke through her sobs as she questioned what could have driven the gunmen to murder her daughter.
“I can’t imagine what monster stands on that bridge, and seeing a little girl running for her father, to hide with him, and he just pulled his trigger on her,” she said.
“It wasn’t just a bullet from a stray, it wasn’t an accident. It was a bullet that was fired on her.”
Matilda’s brother said he was comforted by her memory.
“The one thing that brings me comfort is that whenever I would ask Matilda if she knew that I loved her, she would immediately say ‘yes’,” he said.
“She knew she was loved. She wasn’t alone.”
The family embraced and sobbed as they laid a framed photo of the smiling girl, her shoes and flowers to the growing pile of flowers and tributes at Bondi Pavilion.
Matilda had been fatally shot in front of her six-year-old sister.
She was rushed to hospital, but could not be saved.
Her aunt, Lina Chernykh, shared footage of Matilda smiling and posing with her sister hours before she was killed.
She said the heartbroken family will never recover from their loss.
“A happy kid,” she told 9News.
“She was open-hearted. Everywhere she goes, she was like a sun.”
La Perouse School said Matilda was their “little ray of sunshine” as they paid tribute to their pupil, who was “deeply respected and loved” by students and staff alike.
“She is genuinely the most kind, caring and compassionate young girl, who brightened everyone’s day with her radiant smile and infectious laugh,” the school wrote in a statement.
“Matilda has an incredible gift for bringing joy to those around her.”
Matilda had just won the school’s Soroptimist International Literacy Award on Friday, just two days before the shooting.
La Perouse School said they will always cherish and remember Matilda’s strength and joy for life.
Matilda has been remembered as a “bright, joyful, and spirited child who brought light to everyone around her” by her language teacher Irina Goodhew, who has launched a fundraising appeal for her family.
“Her memory will live on in our hearts,” she wrote on the fundraising site.
If you have been impacted by the terror attack in Bondi there is support available.
