Bondi Beach hero Ahmed al Ahmed receives $2.5 million cheque as he recovers in hospital
Ahmed al Ahmed was hailed a hero after he tackled one of the two shooters at Bondi Beach during Sunday's mass shooting and disarmed him.
Ahmed Al Ahmed, the 43-year-old man who tackled the Bondi beach shooter and saved many lives in the deadly shooting last week, was given USD 2.5 million cheque in community donations on Friday. Ahmed, who is currently undergoing treatment for the injuries that he sustained in the horrific shootout received the cheque from his hospital bed.
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Ahmed, father of two, was hailed a hero after he disarmed one of the two shooters at Bondi Beach last weekend. He emerged from behind a car stationed in the parking lot and overpowered the gunman, snatching away his weapon. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called Ahmed “the best of our country” after he visited him in the hospital this week.
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Earlier, his migration lawyer said Ahmed might lose an arm. Issa said that Ahmed is not well and is struggling to recover. "Our hero is struggling at the moment,” he was quoted as saying by The Age.
Ahmed, who is still recovering from his first round of surgery, is “a lot worse than expected,” Issa added.
Issa said Ahmed sustained five bullets in his left arm, and one bullet hit him in the back, which is yet to be removed.
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Despite being in pain, Issa said that Ahmed does not regret what he did and would be ready to do it again.
“He’s a lot worse than expected. When you think of a bullet in the arm, you don’t think of serious injuries, but he has lost a lot of blood,” Issa told the news platform.
Who is Ahmed al Ahmed, the Bondi hero?
Ahmed is reportedly a fruit shop owner. He was a bystander who took cover behind parked cars before running towards the gunman and snatching his rifle.
He is being hailed for his bravery and quick thinking to save lives. It is not just social media that is thanking the man, who is also a father of two, but also the Australian prime minister as well as other global leaders, including US President Donald Trump.
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“It's been a very, very brave person, actually, who went and attacked frontally one of the shooters, and saved a lot of lives,” Trump said.
Bondi Beach shootout
On December 7 two gunmen, 50-year-old Sajid Akram and his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram, opened fire at a crowd at Sydney's Bondi Beach where thousands had gathered for the celebrations of Jewish festival Hannukah.
While Sajid was killed in face-off with the police, Naveed was critically injured. He was arrested few days later at his hospital bed as he woke up from the coma. The attack left 15 people dead and several others injured.
