In a remarkable display of bravery, Ahmed al-Ahmed, a 44-year-old tobacco shop owner from Sydney, disarmed one of the gunmen at Bondi Beach, saving countless lives. The incident, caught on camera, shows Ahmed leaping from behind a parked car to grapple with Sajid Akram, whose gun was knocked to the ground in the struggle. Ahmed picked it up and pointed it at the gunman, who retreated to his son on a nearby footbridge.
Ahmed's heroic actions have been widely praised, with the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, visiting him in hospital and filmed telling him: "Your heart is strong, your courage is inspiring." Visitors have also included the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns; the Australian governor general, Sam Mostyn, who passed on personal thanks from King Charles; and David Ossip, the president of NSW’s Jewish Board of Deputies.
Despite being shot five times shortly after wrestling with Akram, Ahmed is recovering well after going through three rounds of surgery in a Sydney hospital. A member of the local Syrian-Australian community who visited him last week said his left arm was not expected to regain normal function for at least six months due to his injured nerves.
A fundraiser for Ahmed via GoFundMe has raised $2.5m. Ahmed, who had been getting coffee with his cousin when the shooting started, said he knew his bravery saved many lives but is sad for those who were killed in the attack. He told CBS: "Everything in my heart, in my brain, everything, it’s worked just to manage to save the people’s life." He added: "My target was just to take the gun from him, and to stop him from killing a human being’s life and not killing innocent people." He said he felt something, a power in his body, my brain … I don’t want to see people killed in front of me, I don’t want to hear his gun, I don’t want to see people screaming and begging, asking for help, and that’s my soul asking me to do that."
