Australian Man Had Expected To Die Tackling Bondi Beach Shooter

The Australian man widely hailed as a hero for disarming one of the shooters in Sunday’s deadly attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach reportedly said that he fully expected to get killed tackling the gunman from behind — and that he would do it again to save people’s lives.

Ahmed al-Ahmed, a father of two and store owner from Sutherland, was meeting his cousin for coffee in Bondi that day when two gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah event at the famous beach. The cousin, Jozay Alkanj, told local outlets that the two hid behind cars when they saw “people were shooting very near to us.”

“He said, ‘I’m going to die — please see my family [and tell them] that I went down to save people’s lives,’” Alkanj said of his cousin, who then crept up behind one of the gunmen before tackling and disarming him. Al-Ahmed pointed the rifle at the shooter himself as the gunman ran to rejoin the other suspect, prompting the bystander to put the rifle down before he was shot twice in his arm.

“He doesn’t regret what he did. He said he’d do it again. But the pain has started to take a toll on him,” al-Ahmed’s lawyer Sam Issa told The Sydney Morning Herald of his client, who is currently being treated at St. George Hospital. Issa described al-Ahmed as “riddled with bullets” and worries the 43-year-old will lose his arm.

Footage of al-Ahmed’s bravery quickly went viral, prompting a global outpouring of support that includes crowdfunding for his treatment and praise from leaders. New South Wales Premier Chris Minns posted a photo on social media of him speaking with al-Ahmed while sitting on the edge of his hospital bed.

“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 on X. “It was an honour to spend time with him just now and to pass on the thanks of people across NSW.”

NSW Premier Chris Minns Account/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images

Mustafa al-Asaad, another of the bystander’s cousins, said al-Ahmed told him God gave him “power that he never gave me before” when tackling the gunman and risking his life. Both Jewish and Muslim rights groups have since praised al-Ahmed, who gained Australian citizenship in 2022 after escaping the civil war in Syria.

“When he did what he did, he wasn’t thinking about the background of the people he’s saving, the people dying in the street,” the bystander’s father, Mohamed Fateh al-Ahmed, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “He doesn’t discriminate between one nationality and another. Especially here in Australia, there’s no difference between one citizen and another.”

Authorities said the Sunday shooting killed at least 16 people, whose ages range from 10 years old to 82. Police said they killed one gunman, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, at the scene and are monitoring the second suspect, his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram, while he gets treated at the hospital for critical injuries.

“We have seen Australians today run towards danger in order to help others,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said of al-Ahmed at a press conference. “These Australians are heroes and their bravery has saved lives.”