Hero Who Tackled Bondi Terrorist Speaks Out

Ahmed al Ahmed, the hero bystander who tackled and disarmed one of the Bondi shooters on Sunday, has said that despite the immense pain he is in, he does not regret lunging at the gunman. In fact, he would do it again.

“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,” Sam Issa, Ahmed’s migration lawyer, said on Monday night after visiting him.

“He’s not well at all. He’s riddled with bullets. Our hero is struggling at the moment.”

As Ahmed recovers from his first round of surgery at St George Hospital in Kogarah, Issa fears he will lose his left arm.

Ahmed, according to Issa, sustained about five bullet wounds that were sprayed across his left arm, but one that plunged into the back of his left shoulder blade, which he called “weird”, has yet to be extracted.

“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.

After being granted citizenship in 2022, Ahmed feels “indebted” to the Australian community, Issa 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 said. “He gets that gratitude from being in Australia. This is his way of conveying his gratitude for staying in Australia, for being granted citizenship.

“He has really appreciated this community, and he felt that as a member of the community, he had to act that way and contribute.”

As of Tuesday morning, a GoFundMe crowdfunding page set up for Ahmed by CarHub Australia has amassed more than $1.7 million in donations from more than 29,000 donors.

Among them is US billionaire Bill Ackman, who gave $99,999, and Hollywood actor and comedian Amy Schumer, who donated $2257. Schumer shared an image of NSW Premier Chris Minns visiting Ahmed in hospital on Monday afternoon on her Instagram account.

One $5000 donation is from Charlton Howard, the given name of Australian musician Kid Laroi. Other top donors have given $54,000 and $50,000.

Earlier on Monday, Ahmed’s father Fateh and mother Malaka said their son was in “good spirits”.

“He said he thanks God that he was able to do this, to help innocent people and to save people from these monsters, these killers,” his father said.

Ahmed’s mother said she could not stop crying when she found out her son saved lives.

President Donald Trump has also praised Ahmed’s heroics.

“In Australia, as you’ve probably read, there’s been a very, very brave person who went and attacked frontally one of the shooters,” Trump said. “[He] saved a lot of lives, a very brave person who is right now in the hospital, pretty seriously wounded.

“I have great respect for the man who did that.”

Ahmed, a Muslim, arrived in Australia in 2006 from Syria. The 44-year-old tobacco shop owner is the father of two daughters aged five and six.

Mostafa, Ahmed’s cousin, who did not provide a last name, said he had not slept since he arrived at the hospital on Sunday night. He said his cousin was undoubtedly a hero, but was still in some pain.

“Absolutely, he is a hero,” he said. “He would’ve lost his life to save other people.

“I hope everyone in Australia wishes [that everything goes well for] Ahmed and that he can get back to his family.”

Ahmed told Mostafa he did not know what came over him in the moment, but that God had given him “power that he never gave me before”.

When Laurie Antoniadis realised the man who tackled the shooter was his local tobacconist, he headed to Ahmed’s store.

“I thought I would come over and say thank you to him,” Antoniadis said. “He is a wonderful man.”

Ahmed’s shop was closed on Monday. “I thought it was a very brave act that he did,” Antoniadis said.