‘Terrorists turned shopping centre into an abattoir’ George Cross hero Dominic Troulan who saved 200 from Kenya bloodbath speaks for first time about facing attackers

DOMINIC TROULAN dealt with his fair share of carnage during 30 years in the military, and has the bravery medals to prove it.

So when the retired British special forces soldier was called by a friend whose terrified family was trapped in a shopping centre amid what appeared to be an armed robbery, he did not hesitate to help.

He did not know that what was actually unfolding was one of the worst terror attacks ever to hit Kenya — and that what he did next would lead him to being awarded the George Cross, our second highest award for gallantry.

Dominic, who was working as a security consultant in the capital Nairobi, grabbed his 9mm pistol, jumped on his motorbike and raced across the city to the Westgate mall.

Believing he had left the horrors of the front line behind him in the Army, the scene he faced when he arrived was like a war zone.

Al-Shabaab terrorists, armed with assault rifles and hand grenades, were randomly killing shoppers at the start of what was to become a four-day siege.

Undeterred by the gunfire, he not only rescued his pal’s wife and daughter but, over several hours, he shepherded out around 200 others, after repeatedly running back into the mall.

Now he has spoken for the first time about facing the attackers in 2013, an act that has earned him the George Cross in this month’s Queen’s Birthday Honours.

He is the first civilian to receive the medal, a bravery award second only to the Victoria Cross, in 41 years.

Dominic, 54, recalled: “It was like an abattoir. There was blood on the walls and unexploded grenades on the floor.

“A number of children were already dead. It was horrendous. It was absolute carnage.”