Hero who wrestled gun from attacker named as Ahmed Al Ahmed
Ahmed Al Ahmed’s parents have called their son an Australian hero as he was pictured recovering in hospital from two gunshot wounds.
A Syrian immigrant who tackled and disarmed one of the Bondi terrorists prayed to God to give him strength “to stop these killings” while hiding behind a car before charging at the gunman.
Incredible footage captured tobacconist Ahmed Al Ahmed, 43, running up to Sajid Akram, 50, from behind, tackling him and wresting a rifle from him – an act of bravery praised by US President Donald Trump as “very, very brave”.
In an inspiration to Sydneysiders reeling from the anti-Semitic terror attack, it can be revealed Mr Ahmed – who moved to Australia for a new life about a decade ago from war-torn Syria – prayed seconds before attacking the gunman because he wanted to save people under fire.
On Monday, Mr Ahmed was in his hospital bed healing from the two gunshot wounds he sustained during Sunday’s chaos.
He received a visit from Premier Chris Minns, who posted a photo of himself sitting at the end of Mr Ahmed’s hospital bed on Monday night.
“Ahmed is a real-life hero,” Mr Minns wrote on Instagram.
“Last night, his incredible bravery no doubt saved countless lives when he disarmed a terrorist at enormous personal risk.
“It was an honour to spend time with him just now and to pass on the thanks of people across NSW.
“There is no doubt that more lives would have been lost if not for Ahmed’s selfless courage.
“Thank you, Ahmed.”
Mr Ahmed has captured the admiration of not only the nation but the world for his heroic actions in disarming one of the terrorists.
He has woken from surgery a hero and will have learnt of the outpourings of gratitude from thousands of people who are donating a GoFundMe set up to honour him.
The fundraiser raised almost $1m in just 17 hours, with the proceeds hoping to change the courageous man’s life.
“He’s a very religious man, he’s Muslim, he doesn’t believe in killings, Muslims don’t – he said he couldn’t take any killings in front of his eyes and that it was time to stop the killing,” Mr Ahmed’s cousin, Mostafa, told The Daily Telegraph on Monday.
“He prayed to God, he said: ‘Give me strength’ and he ran at him from behind, he said the strength from God gave him the power to act.
“He crept up behind him and put him in a headlock, he said after that he can’t really remember too much about what happened – he just had to get the weapon.”
Following the attack, Mr Ahmed was taken to Kogarah’s St George Hospital, where he was due to have surgery after being shot twice.
Outside the hospital another of Mr Ahmed’s cousins, Jozay Alkanj, said his relative was a father of two with a wife and two young daughters.
Also speaking outside St George Hospital, Mr Ahmed’s parents said via an Arabic interpreter that their son is always looking to help others.
His father Mohamed Fateh Al Ahmed said his son was meeting a friend to have coffee at Bondi Beach when the attack began, calling him a “hero of Australia”.
“He noticed one of the armed men at a distance, my son is a hero, he served with the police and with the central security forces, he has the impulse to protect people, when he saw people lying on the ground and the blood everywhere, immediately his conscience and his soul compelled him to pounce on one of the terrorists and to rid him of his weapon,” Mr Ahmed senior said.
“I feel pride and honour because my son is a hero of Australia”.
His mother Malakeh Hasan Al Ahmed said: “I’m proud that my son was helping people, he saved lives, souls, God would not harm him because he was a do-gooder.”
Mr Ahmed and his family had come to Australia from Idlib in war-torn Syria about 10 years ago and he now runs a tobacconist store in Sutherland.
“He’s got two shots in his shoulder, in his hand, it was very bad, very scary – he’s a hero,” Mr Alkanj said.
“He went to the guy and stole the gun from him, he was telling me: ‘I don’t want to die, I love you, stay with me’.”
Mr Ahmed’s parents, who do not speak English, were overwhelmed with emotion while speaking to an Arabic-speaking reporter nearby.
Regular tobacconist customer of Mr Ahmed’s, Laurie Antoniadis, 74, visited his friend’s store to thank him on Monday.
“I just wanted to come to the tobacco store to thank him, I realised after what happened in Bondi, that it was him, I’ve been coming to him for a few years, he’s a lovely guy, he’s very friendly and helpful and always ready to help you out,” he said.
“It’s a very brave act that he did, I just wanted to shake his hand and say: ‘Thank you.’”
Akram was later shot and killed by police during the incident, while his 24-year-old son, Naveed, was shot and taken to hospital under guard.
No charges have been laid, but police have declared it a terror incident.
The video footage of Mr Ahmed fending off the terrorist has gone global, with outlets such as the BBC, the New York Post and the New York Times running the vision.
Mr Trump described his actions as fearless.
“There’s been a very, very brave person, actually, who went and attacked frontally one of the shooters and saved a lot of lives, a very brave person who is right now in the hospital and seriously wounded – great respect to the man who did that,” Mr Trump said.
Meanwhile, New York-based billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman wrote online he wanted to donate to Mr Ahmed and his family.
“What is clear is that a brave hero saved lives in Australia,” Mr Ackman said.
Originally published as Hero who wrestled gun from attacker named as Ahmed Al Ahmed
