Donations and tributes have poured in for a man dubbed the “Bondi hero” after he tackled and disarmed one of the alleged attackers during the deadly mass shooting at a Jewish celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday.
Ahmed al-Ahmed, a Muslim father of two, was captured on video sneaking up behind one of the gunmen, grabbing him and wrestling away his firearm.
The 43-year-old was then seen pointing the man’s weapon at him before setting it on the ground and raising his hands, apparently to indicate that he did not pose a threat.
During the incident, al-Ahmed was shot twice by the second gunman, suffering injuries to his shoulder and hand, according to his family. He underwent surgery on Sunday night and is now in a stable condition, awaiting further treatment for his shotgun wounds.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited al-Ahmed — a Syrian-born Australian citizen — at Saint George Hospital in Sydney on Tuesday and paid tribute to the fruit shop owner.
“It was a great honour to meet Ahmed al-Ahmed. He is a true Australian hero,” Albanese said after meeting him and his parents.
“We are a brave country. Ahmed al-Ahmed represents the best of our country. We will not allow this country to be divided.”
Al-Ahmed has also been praised by leaders including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump. The latter said al-Ahmed was “a very, very brave person” who had saved many lives.
Crowdfunding campaign
A GoFundMe campaign set up for al-Ahmed has raised more than A$2.2 million (€1.24 m).
“We’re seeing an outpouring of love for Ahmed al-Ahmed following his heroic actions at Bondi Beach. We’re working directly with organisers to ensure funds safely reach Ahmed and his family,” GoFundMe said in a post on X on Monday.
Several strangers have left flowers outside of Saint George Hospital and al-Ahmed’s shuttered fruit shop in a show of support, according to local media reports.
Al-Ahmed moved from Syria to Sydney in 2006, his relatives told Australian media. His father, Mohamed Fateh al-Ahmed, said that his son was having coffee with a friend in the area on Sunday afternoon when he heard the gunshots and decided to intervene.
“My son is a hero. He served in the police, he has the passion to defend people,” Mohamed Fateh told ABC News. It is unclear which police force al-Ahmed served in.
Al-Ahmed’s mother, Malakeh Hasan al-Ahmed, said she kept “beating myself up and crying” after receiving the call that her son had been shot.
“I’m proud that my son was helping people, rescuing people,” she said.
“He saw they were dying, and people were losing their lives, and when that guy [the attacker] ran out of ammo, he took [the gun] from him, but he was hit.”
Al-Ahmed’s parents said they had arrived in Sydney from Syria just a couple of months ago.
Suspects linked to Islamic State group
Fifteen people were killed in the attack, which occurred around 6:45 pm local time on Sunday at Bondi Beach during a Hanukkah celebration attended by around 1,000 people. It was the country’s worst mass shooting in nearly three decades.
Police have said that the two suspects were a father and son. The 50-year-old father was killed by police at the scene, while the son, 24, is being treated in hospital.
Australia’s Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barret said on Tuesday that the shooting was “a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State”.
Albanese said that the assessment was based on evidence including the “presence of Islamic State flags” in a seized vehicle.
Twenty-five people are still being treated in hospitals after Sunday’s massacre, 10 of them in critical condition. Three of them are patients in a children’s hospital.