SYDNEY: Donations for a Sydney man who wrestled a gun from one of the alleged attackers during a mass shooting at Bondi Beach have surged past A$1.1 million ($744,000), as he recovers in hospital after surgery for bullet wounds. Forty-three-year-old Ahmed Al-Ahmed, a Muslim father-of-two, hid behind parked cars before charging at one of the gunmen from behind, seizing his rifle and knocking him to the ground.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Ahmed’s bravery saved lives. “What we’ve seen in the last 24 hours was the worst of humanity in a terrorist act. But we also saw an example of the best of humanity in Ahmed Al-Ahmed running towards danger, putting his own life at risk,” Albanese told state broadcaster ABC News. He was shot twice by a second perpetrator, Albanese said.
Ahmed’s family said he was hit in the hand and arm. Australian police on Monday said a 50-year-old father and his 24-year-old son carried out the attack at a Jewish celebration on Sunday afternoon, killing 15 people in the country’s worst mass shooting in almost 30 years.
Ahmed’s father, Mohamed Fateh Al-Ahmed, told ABC News in an interview that his son was an Australian citizen and sells fruits and vegetables.
“My son is a hero. He served in the police, he has the passion to defend people. When he saw people lying on the ground and the blood, quickly his conscience pushed him to attack one of the terrorists and take away his weapon,” Mohamed Fateh said. Jozay Alkanji, Ahmed’s cousin, said he had had initial surgery and may need more.
Tributes have poured in from leaders both abroad and at home. Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales, where Sydney is located, said in a social media post he visited Ahmed at St George Hospital and conveyed the gratitude of people across the state. “Ahmed is a real-life hero,” his post said. “Thank you, Ahmed.” A photo showed Minns at his bedside, and Ahmed propped on pillows with his left arm in a cast.
US President Donald Trump called Ahmed “a very, very brave person” who saved many lives. A GoFundMe campaign set up for Ahmed has raised more than A$1.1 million within one day. Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman was the largest donor, contributing A$99,999 and sharing the fundraiser on his X account.
Outside St George Hospital, strangers came to show their support. Misha and Veronica Pochuev left flowers for Ahmed with their seven-year-old daughter, Miroslava. “My husband is Russian, my father is Jewish, my grandpa is Muslim. This is not only about Bondi, this is about every person,” Veronica said. Yomna Touni, 43, stayed at the hospital for hours to offer assistance on behalf of a Muslim-run charity also raising funds for Ahmed. “The intention is to raise as much money as possible for his speedy recovery,” she said.
Wary of reprisals, police have so far avoided questions about the attackers’ religion or ideological motivations. Misinformation spread quickly online in the wake of the attacks, some of it targeting immigrants and the Muslim community. Police said they responded to reports on Monday of several pig heads left at a Muslim cemetery in southwestern Sydney.
Australia vowed stricter gun laws on Monday. The older gunman was killed at the scene, taking the tally of dead to 16, while his son was in a critical condition in hospital, police told a press conference. Police have not released the suspects’ names but national broadcaster ABC and other media have identified them as Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram. Two flags of militant group Islamic State were found in the gunmen’s vehicle, ABC News reported, without citing a source.
The incident has raised questions about whether Australia’s gun laws, among the toughest in the world, need an overhaul, with police saying the older suspect had held a firearms license since 2015, along with six registered weapons. For between 10 and 20 minutes on Sunday evening, the gunmen had fired on attendees at the Hanukkah event, gunning down men, women and children as terrified beachgoers fled.
The victims were aged between 10 and 87. The 40 people taken to hospital after the attack included two police officers who were in a serious but stable condition, police said. “What we saw yesterday was an act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism, an act of terrorism,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters after laying flowers at Bondi Beach. “The Jewish community are hurting today,” he added. “Today, all Australians wrap our arms around them and say, we stand with you. We will do whatever is necessary to stamp out antisemitism. It is a scourge, and we will eradicate it together.”
Mourners paid respects and laid flowers at a makeshift memorial at the Bondi pavilion draped in Israeli and Australian flags as police and private Jewish security guards patrolled. Albanese said his cabinet had agreed to strengthen gun laws and work on a national firearms register to tackle aspects such as the number of weapons permitted by gun licenses, and how long the latter are valid.
“People’s circumstances can change,” he told reporters before the cabinet met. “People can be radicalized over a period of time. Licenses should not be in perpetuity.” Security officials said one of the gunmen was known to authorities but had not been deemed an immediate threat. “We are very much working through the background of both persons. At this stage, we know very little about them,” New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon told reporters.
Home Minister Tony Burke said the father arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa, while his son is an Australian-born citizen. Police gave no details of their firearms, but videos from the scene showed the men firing weapons that appeared to be a bolt-action rifle and a shotgun. Albanese said measures being considered ranged from curbs on open-ended licenses to limits on weapons held by a single individual and the types that are legal, including modifications, with permits restricted to Australian citizens. – Agencies
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