New details have emerged about the man whose split-second decision to run toward gunfire at Bondi Beach likely saved countless lives during Sunday’s Islamist terror attack.
Ahmed al-Ahmed, a 43-year-old father of two young daughters, told family members he believed he was going to die moments before charging one of the shooters and disarming him. According to his cousin, al-Ahmed said, “I’m going to die. Tell my family I saved people’s lives,” before tackling the attacker and wrestling away his rifle.
Al-Ahmed, a Syrian-born Australian citizen who arrived in Australia in 2006, remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition after undergoing surgery for multiple gunshot wounds. Family members say he was shot four to five times in the shoulder, arm, and hand during the struggle and faces additional surgeries in the coming days.
Beyond the dramatic footage, relatives have emphasized al-Ahmed’s personal story. He is the owner of a small tobacco shop in the Sydney suburb of Sutherland and the primary provider for his family. His parents only joined him in Australia earlier this year after nearly two decades of separation, having remained in Syria while he built a new life abroad. They are now keeping vigil at his hospital bedside.
Video footage widely shared on social media shows al-Ahmed hiding behind parked cars before sprinting toward one of the gunmen and leaping onto him from behind. The suspect, later identified as Naveed Akram, was using what appeared to be a hunting rifle, and experts reviewing the footage have said his shooting technique suggested prior firearms training.
