'Tell My Family I Tried To Save Lives': How Syrian-Born Fruit Seller Became Bondi Beach Hero

Last Updated:December 15, 2025, 09:29 IST

Ahmed Al Ahmed, a 43-year-old father of two, tackled the gunman from behind, wrested the rifle from his hands, and in doing so likely prevented further bloodshed at Bondi Beach

Ahmed al Ahmed won praise for his heroic efforts to disarm a gunman during the terror attack at Sydney's Bondi Beach. (Photo: X)

When gunfire erupted at a crowded Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach on Sunday, panic and chaos rippled through the crowd. However, in those terrifying moments amid screams and frantic attempts to flee, one man made a decision that would change countless lives.

Ahmed Al Ahmed, a 43-year-old Syrian-born father of two, was walking near the scene when he saw a shooter firing at the crowd. Without training—and without a weapon—he ran toward danger. In a moment captured on video and shared around the world, Ahmed tackled the gunman from behind, wrested the rifle from his hands, and in doing so likely prevented further bloodshed.

FROM SYRIA TO SYDNEY

Ahmed, who originally hails from war-torn Syria, settled in Australia over a decade ago, building a new life and raising his family in the Sutherland Shire, south of Sydney. He and his wife have two young children and run a small fruit shop.

Despite his courageous actions that day, Ahmed had no prior experience with firearms. His family says his intervention was instinctive. “He did what he did out of instinct to protect others," a cousin told The Sydney Morning Herald.

Outside the hospital where he was being treated, Ahmed’s family spoke about him with emotion and pride. His cousin Mustafa said Ahmed was shot twice, in his arm and hand, during the struggle and later underwent surgery. “We hope he will be fine," Mustafa told reporters. “He’s a hero, 100 per cent", 7NEWS reported.

Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, Ahmed’s father said: “I saw him last night and he 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."

Ahmed’s heroics have also won him praise from US President Donald Trump, who said: “In Australia, as you’ve probably read, there’s been a very, very brave person who went and attacked frontally one of the shooters. [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."

HE SAID, ‘I’M GOING TO DIE’

Speaking after the Bondi shooting, Ahmed’s cousin Jozay Alkanj described the terrifying moments as the attack unfolded.

Ahmed was in Bondi on Sunday morning having coffee with Alkanj when gunfire erupted nearby. “He told me, ‘I’m going to die. Please see my family and tell them that I went down to save people’s lives,’" Alkanj said. Moments later, Ahmed confronted the attacker and took the rifle from him.

In video footage of the attack, Ahmed is seen advancing toward a shooter firing a rifle near a car park. Using cars for cover, he closed the distance, launched himself at the attacker, and forced the weapon from his grasp. Afterward, with another shooter still active nearby, he placed the seized rifle down carefully, raising his hands to signal he was not a threat.

The dramatic act stunned onlookers and first responders alike. New South Wales Premier Chris Minns described the scene as “the most unbelievable I’ve ever seen" and said he was convinced “many, many people are alive tonight as a result of his bravery."

On Monday morning, outside St George Hospital in Sydney’s south, Alkanj recalled how his cousin was left with two gunshot wounds to his upper left shoulder.

THE BONDI MAYHEM

A father and son opened fire on a Jewish festival at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in a shooting spree that killed 16 people, including a child, authorities said Monday as they denounced the attack as antisemitic “terrorism".

A 10-year-old girl was among the 15 dead in Australia’s worst mass shooting for almost 30 years, while 42 more were rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds and other injuries.

The gunmen targeted an annual celebration that drew more than 1,000 people to the beach to mark the Jewish festival. They took aim from a raised boardwalk looking over the beach, which was packed with swimmers cooling off on a steamy summer evening.

Carrying long-barrelled guns, they peppered the beach with bullets for 10 minutes before police shot and killed the 50-year-old father. The 24-year-old son was arrested and remained under guard in hospital with serious injuries.

Australia’s intelligence service investigated one of the alleged gunmen in the Bondi Beach shooting for links to the Islamic State group six years ago, the national broadcaster said Monday.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation looked into the son in 2019, according to public broadcaster ABC, which cited an unnamed senior official in the joint counter-terrorism operation investigating the Bondi Beach attack.

It said Naveed Akram was believed to be closely connected to an Islamic State member who was arrested in July 2019 and convicted of preparing a terrorist act in Australia.

(With AFP inputs)

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