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Bondi hero prevented a ‘massacre’, stopped gunman advancing on helpless crowd
Ahmed al Ahmed saved more than 30 people when he prevented one of the Bondi shooters from advancing on a helpless crowd.
Ahmed, who is being hailed around the world for his bravery, told his lawyer that he charged at one of the gunmen on Sunday after seeing that he was walking towards about 30 people lying on the ground, attempting to avoid being shot.
Sam Issa, Ahmed’s lawyer, said the heroic bystander had said he did what he could to prevent “a massacre”.
“He saw them walking towards them and pounced to prevent a massacre,” Issa said.
“Ahmed said there were so many people on the ground and covering their heads, to avoid the bullets.
“And this son of a bitch was running towards them, he was going to shoot them.
“That’s when Ahmed sprang into action, he only had the gunman in his sights.”
Issa said the death toll at the attack could have been much higher had his client not disarmed the gunman.
“I’d hate to think what the toll would have been had my client not pounced on him.”
The footage of the incident shows Ahmed moving towards the gunman through the car park, charging at him and grabbing the gun.
Ahmed was able to eventually disarm the gunman, who slowly backed away, walking towards the car park overpass, where the other shooter was positioned.
Ahmed placed the rifle he wrestled from the gunman against a tree, and backed away. The video shows another bystander chasing after the gunman, throwing things at him.
The footage has been viewed tens of millions of times and shared around the world.
Ahmed is recovering at St George Hospital in Kogarah, after sustaining about five bullet wounds that were sprayed across his left arm during the attack.
The 44-year-old tobacco shop owner is the father of two daughters aged five and six, and arrived in Australia from Syria in 2006.
A GoFundMe crowdfunding page set up for Ahmed by CarHub Australia has amassed more than $2 million as of Tuesday afternoon.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Ahmed in hospital on Tuesday, thanking him for his bravery.
“Your courage is inspiring,” he told Ahmed, with a video of the visit posted to the prime minister’s Instagram page calling him an “Australian hero” in the caption.
“You put yourself at risk to save others, running towards danger on Bondi Beach and disarming a terrorist.
“In the worst of times, we see the best of Australians. And that’s exactly what we saw on Sunday night.”
More Bondi terror coverage
- Moment by moment: How the horrifying Bondi terror attack unfolded
- Bondi shooter held gun licence: The prime minister will propose strengthening Australian gun laws
- Watch: Alleged Bondi gunman tells bystanders to move away, while shooting at Hanukkah crowd
- Who are the alleged Bondi gunmen? Bondi shooters visited Philippines weeks before beach massacre
Mostafa Rachwani is a Parramatta reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald. He was previously the Community Affairs reporter at Guardian Australia.Connect via email.