Hero who tackled and disarmed Bondi Beach terrorist pictured as he is rushed to hospital
A man who heroically tackled and disarmed one of the Bondi Beach gunmen has now been identified.
The bystander has been named as 43-year-old Ahmed al Ahmed, a Sydney local and father of two who owns a fruit shop in Sutherland. According to his cousin, Ahmed was shot twice during the extraordinary intervention. Speaking to 7News, his cousin Mustafa said Ahmed was being treated in hospital.
“He’s in hospital and we don’t know exactly what’ going on inside,” Mustafa said. “We do hope he will be fine. He’s a hero 100 per cent.” Ahmed was due to undergo surgery on the night of the incident. He reportedly has no experience with firearms and was simply walking past when he decided to intervene.
(Image: Instagram)
Footage shows Ahmed, wearing a white shirt, crouching behind a car in a carpark metres away from one of the shooters. During a pause between shots, he runs through the parked cars and grabs the gunman in a headlock from behind.
After a violent struggle lasting about five seconds, Ahmed is able to wrestle the shotgun from the attacker, who falls backwards. Ahmed then points the weapon at the shooter as the man retreats towards a bridge, repeatedly looking over his shoulder.
New footage shows Ahmed later sitting on the ground while bystanders attend to what appears to be a leg injury. In the clip, posted to Instagram by @crazynewsinsydney, the caption states that the “man was injured but his courage gave others time to escape”.
Ahmed appears coherent in the video and can be seen speaking to responders as they support him from behind. One man brings a towel to help with what is believed to be bleeding. Ahmed then places the shotgun against a nearby tree.
The same video shows a second shooter on a raised bridge close by, ducking up and down as he exchanges fire with police, who are taking cover behind cars. The gunman is seen frantically gesturing for his disarmed accomplice to return to the bridge.
Ahmed and another man remain crouched near the tree beside the shotgun. The second man appears to be shot. Moments later, a police officer approaches from behind the bridge and fatally shoots the gunman. The second man is taken into custody while suffering injuries.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
In another video, police are seen tending to two men lying on the ground, with a shotgun beneath one of them and multiple spent shotgun shells scattered nearby. A bystander can be heard yelling “f****** bash him” before a shirtless man approaches and kicks one of the men on the ground, prompting police to intervene and move him away.
Twelve people were confirmed dead in the horrifying Bondi Beach terror attack. A further 29 people including children have been injured. Among the victims was Rabbi Eli Schlanger from the Chabad of Bondi. Mere hours before the tragic event, Rabbi Schlanger had been promoting the event on his Facebook page.
In an update provided on Sunday evening, police reported that the injured included a child with an arm injury, a 62-year-old woman who suffered a gunshot wound to her leg, and a man who sustained a bullet graze to his head.
(Image: UGC/AFP via Getty Images)
Eyewitnesses allegedly heard people shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ as the terrifying shooting unfolded at Bondi Beach. One of the suspected gunmen has now been identified, and the incident has been classified as a terrorist attack.
Arsen Ostrovsky was injured in the shooting and said he watched the horror unfold as he felt blood gushing down his head after being shot.
He told Sky News Australia that children and families were enjoying themselves at a festival before chaos ensured. “All of a sudden it’s absolute chaos, there’s guns, fire everywhere, people ducking, it was absolute chaos,” he said. “We didn’t know what was happening, where the gunfire was coming from, I saw blood gushing from me, I saw people hit – falling to the ground.”
Speaking under the condition of anonymity, an Australian law enforcement official named the alleged shooter as Narveed Akram, from Bonnyrigg in Sydney’s south-west. The official stated that Akram’s residence in Bonnyrigg was currently being searched by police, according to ABC.net.au.
One of the shooters was killed during the incident, while the other has been apprehended.
A bomb disposal unit is now on the scene. NSW police commissioner Mal Lanyon says a vehicle near the beach is believed to have several explosive devices inside.
(Image: Getty Images)
Commissioner Mal Lanyon said at a press conference: “As part of the investigation and shortly after the shooting occurred, police located a vehicle in Campbell Parade in Bondi which we believe has several improvised explosive devices.
“We have our rescue bomb disposal unit there at the moment working on that.” He added it was too early to say what kind of guns were used in the shooting.
