The heroic bystander who took down and disarmed one of the Bondi terrorists has spoken for the first time from his hospital bed, as a public fundraiser to support him and his family surpasses a staggering $1.84m.
Sydney tobacco shop owner Ahmed Al Ahmed has been lauded as a hero for taking down one of the shooters who allegedly committed the vile massacre at Bondi Beach at the weekend.
Dramatic footage captures Al Ahmed lunging at the gunman, disarming him after he runs out of ammunition.
Despite being injured and in hospital, Al Ahmed said he did not regret what he did.
His migration lawyer Sam Issa told the Sydney Morning Herald the pain had “started to take a toll on him” while revealing he feared Al Ahmed may lose his arm.
“He’s not well at all. He’s riddled with bullets. Our hero is struggling at the moment,” Issa told the publication.
Issa said Al Ahmed has about five bullet wounds across his left arm – one plunging into the back of his left shoulder blade.
“He’s a lot worse than expected. When you think of a bullet in the arm, you don’t think of serious injuries, but he has lost a lot of blood,” he said.
“Ahmed’s a humble man, he’s not interested in coverage, he just did what he was compelled to do as a human being on that day.
“He gets that gratitude from being in Australia. This is his way of conveying his gratitude for staying in Australia, for being granted citizenship.”
Al Ahmed was earlier named as a fruit seller from the Sutherland Shire – despite confirmation he has actually owned and operated his own tobacconist and specialist convenience store since 2021.
Sutherland Best Fresh settled the record through its Facebook page yesterday.
“So sad to see this tragedy happen this afternoon in Bondi,” the store wrote on Facebook.
“There has been a miscommunication … on where this great Australian hero’s fruit shop location is.
“We do not know who Ahmed is, nor the location of his fruit shop.
“We congratulate this hero and wish him a speedy recovery. Praying for those who have been affected.”
Bondi hero fundraiser hits $1.84m
Thousands of wellwishers have saluted Mr Al Ahmed’s bravery by donating AU$1.6m ($1.84m) to a fundraiser created to support him and his family.
More than 25,000 people had contributed to the fundraiser at about midday today (NZT), including an enormous donation from American-Jewish investment banker Bill Ackman.
Ackman, whose net worth is around AU$9.5b ($10.9b), donated AU$99,999 ($114,800) after urging a verified platform to set up a fundraiser to support the hero and his family.
“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 description reads.
“In a moment of chaos and danger, he stepped forward without hesitation. His actions were selfless, instinctive and undeniably heroic, taken without regard for his own safety. Early reports indicate he was shot twice in the process while protecting others.
“This GoFundMe has been created to show our gratitude and support for someone who demonstrated incredible courage when it mattered most.”
Minns’ hospital visit
NSW Premier Chris Minns met Ahmed during his recovery, posting a touching message to Instagram about his heroism.
“Ahmed is a real-life hero. Last night, his incredible bravery no doubt saved countless lives when he disarmed a terrorist at enormous personal risk,” Minns wrote.
“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.”
Speaking to the ABC earlier in the day, Ahmed’s father Mohamed Fateh Al Ahmed spoke of their son’s move to Australia in 2006 and why he was in Bondi on the day of the massacre.
“What happened is: his friend told him, ‘Let’s go have coffee at Bondi’,” Al Ahmed’s father told the broadcaster.
“They got there, and were shocked to see armed men firing their weapons.
“Their lives were in danger. He noticed one of the armed men at a distance.”
Al Ahmed snr lauded his son as a “hero” who had the impulse to protect people.
“When he saw people laying on the ground and the blood everywhere, immediately his conscience and his soul compelled him to pounce on one of the terrorists and rid him of his weapon,” he said.
“I feel pride and honour, because my son is a hero of Australia.”
Malakeh Hasan Al Ahmed – Al Ahmed’s mother – said her son saved lives on that fateful day.
She told the ABC her son noticed one of the shooters had run out of ammunition when he pounced on him.
“But he was hit,” she said.
“We pray that God saves him.”
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