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Ahmed al-Ahmed was focused on one thing when he grabbed the gun from one of the shooting men. to people attending a Hanukkah celebration in Syndey’s Bondi Beach earlier this month, saving as many lives as possible.
“My goal was just to take the gun from him and stop him from killing a human being,” al-Ahmed, 43, told CBS News in an interview. He says the need to stop the shooter outweighed any fear of the second shooter positioned on a bride nearbyage.
“I know I saved many people’s lives,” al-Ahmed said. “But I’m still sorry for the lost.”
Two gunmen – a father and son – opened fire during a Hanukkah event at the famous Australian beach on December 14, killing 15 people.people and injuring 40 others the deadliest attack in the country since 1996. The shooting it has since been declared a terrorist attack.
WATCH | What we know about the man who disarmed a shooter at Bondi Beach:
Ahmed al-Ahmed was hailed as a hero for running towards one of the Bondi Beach shooters and possibly preventing further deaths. Al-Ahmed, who served in the Syrian security forces, told his cousin he was going to die before taking action.
Al-Ahmed, a Syrian-Australian store owner, wlike having coffee with a friend when the shooting started. In a moment captured on video, which has since been widely shared, al-Ahmed ran behind one of the gunmen around a parked car and grabbed the man from behind. Al-Ahmed told CBS he remembered hitting him before grabbing him by the neck.
“I hold him with my right hand and I start saying a word, you know, like warning him, drop your gun,” he said.
The video shows al-Ahmed pulling the gun away from the shooter and pointing it at him, before the shooter falls to his knees and then steps back.
“I don’t want to hear his gun, I don’t want to see people screaming and begging, asking for help, and it’s my soul asking me to do that. And everything in my heart, in my brain, everything, it worked just to…save people’s lives,” al-Ahmed said.
WATCH | Sydneysiders hail Ahmed Al Ahmed as a hero:
Residents of Sydney, Australia, praised Ahmed al-Ahmed after he was identified as the bystander who charged a gunman during a mass shooting, praising his courage for rushing into a dangerous situation. Al-Ahmed’s family said he was hospitalized after surgery for gunshot wounds.
Sajid Akram, the gunman al-Ahmed attacked, was later killed by police. His son, Naveed Akram, was also shot dead by police but survived. has since been charged with 59 offensesincluding charges related to murder and terrorism.
Al-Ahmed himself was shot five times in the hand and arm by the second shooter and has since spent time in hospital undergoing surgery for his injuries. While members of the Australian Syrian community who had visited al-Ahmed told the Guardian He was recovering well, but they said he probably wouldn’t regain full function in his arm for a few months due to nerve damage.
“He looks happier… He’s a humble person and shy too,” Tamer Kahil, who visited Ahmed in hospital, told the Guardian.
Al-Ahmed was hailed as a hero for his actions at Bondi Beach. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called him a hero whose courage was a “an inspiration to all Australians” when he visited al-Ahmed in hospital earlier this month.
Australians also left flowers and messages of support for al-Ahmed outside the hospital where he was recovering, as well as outside the store he owns.
Others from around the world also raised funds to support al-Ahmed through his recovery in hospital and the trauma of that day’s events. A GoFundMe for him raised over $2.6 million and countingwith a goal of $3 million.
