Unarmed hero civilian Ahmed Al Ahmed wrestled rifle from gunman
A 43-year-old with no experience with guns is recovering in hospital after extraordinary footage captured the moment he tackled a rifle-wielding gunman at Bondi. Ahmed Al Ahmed’s actions have earned accolades wordwide, and a donation from one of the world’s richest men.
A unarmed hero civilian who wrestled a rifle from a gunman at Bondi Beach underwent surgery on Sunday night after being shot in his hand and shoulder.
A blood donor at St George Hospital in Sydney on Monday provided an update on Ahmed Al Ahmed, the 43-year-old Sydney father who heroically tackled and disarmed one of the shooters in yesterday’s terror attack at Bondi Beach.
Speaking outside the hospital, Nancy Sharma said she spoke with Mr Ahmed’s brother, who said Mr Ahmed was “under observation and just getting better”.
“That guy is a national hero at the moment,” she said.
“You hear about these things in the US, but not in Australia … this has never happened to us.”
“I just had a brief chat with [Mr Ahmed’s brother] and he said he’s doing well and I hope he gets better.”
The moment he took on a killer
Confronting footage shows Mr Ahmed creeping up on the shooter and tussling with him, managing to wrest the massive rifle from him, as another gunman shoots from a nearby pedestrian bridge.
Mr Ahmed had been hiding behind a grey car as the shooter with a longarm raised to his shoulder, fired towards the beach.
The footage shows him sense his opportunity with the shooter is focused in the other direction, firing calmly.
Mr Ahmed rises from his crouch and runs the two metres to the shooter, grabs him from behind in a bear hug, right arm over the shooter’s right shoulder, snatches the weapon and wrenches it away.
The gunman falls back onto the ground, and Mr Ahmed keeps possession of the rifle, appearing to keep it trained on the gunman until he retreats, shuffling away on his backside.
A relative told Seven Mr Ahmed had no experience with guns.
“He’s a hero, he’s 100 per cent a hero,” the relative said.
In the footage, with the shooter disarmed, Mr Ahmed then lowers the weapon, leans it against the tree, and raises one hand as if to say: “It wasn’t me.”
Another man in a black shirt and white pants runs towards the disarmed shooter and throws something in his direction as a bang rings out.
The gunman, wearing a black backpack, then flees without his weapon, and appears to join the other gunman, who is still firing from the bridge over the carpark.
It appears that second shooter was being at shot at, presumably by police, as he walked up and down the bridge, occasionally hiding behind the low concrete wall as the shots were discharged.
The unarmed man had projectiles thrown at him as he retreated to the bridge.
Both men were later arrested on the bridge.
Trump, Minns hail bravery
Mr Ahmed’s courage has been hailed by Premier Chris Minns, who described him as a “genuine hero” who saved lives.
“It’s the most unbelievable scene I’ve ever seen. A man walking up to a gunman who had fired on the community and single-handedly disarming him, putting his own life at risk to save the lives of countless other people,” Mr Minns said.
“That man is a genuine hero, and I’ve got no doubt that there are many, many people alive tonight as a result of his bravery.”
Delivering remarks at a Christmas reception at the White House with the First Lady, US President Donald Trump described the Bondi attack as “terrible”.
“And that was an anti-Semitic attack, obviously,” Mr Trump said. “And I just want to pay my respects to everybody.
“But to Australia and the Prime Minister, to everybody that we know so well, we get on with so well – we have a great relationship … that’s a terrible situation going on over there.”
He also paid tribute to the courage of Mr Ahmed who tackled one of the gunmen.
“You probably read – it’s been a very, very brave person actually – who went and attacked, frontally, one of the shooters, and saved a lot of lives.”
Funds flood in for hero
A GoFundMe has raised more than $250,000 for the Mr Ahmed, led by US hedge fund manager Bill Ackman.
The fundraiser set up by Car Hub Australia, which contributed $50,000 to the cause, was bolstered by a $100,000 donation from the US-based billionaire after he urged social media users to identify the “brave hero who saved lives” late last night.
Mr Ackman directed his followers on X to the fundraiser page confirming that the funds would only be released to Mr Ahmed.
“After witnessing the extraordinary actions of the hero who helped disarm one of the attackers during the Bondi tragedy, an act that prevented the loss of countless more lives, we felt compelled to act,” the GoFundMe page reads.
“No one expects to be a hero, but when the moment came, he was. Any contribution, big or small, is a powerful way to say thank you.”
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