Bondi Beach hero Ahmed Al-Ahmed might lose his arm as calls develop for him to be given a bravery award

Ahmed Al-Ahmed, the hero who tackled one of the Bondi Beach terrorists, may lose his left arm after being shot multiple times, his lawyer has revealed. 

Mr Al-Ahmed is said to have no regrets over his dramatic intervention on Sunday night even as the full scale of his life-changing injuries comes into view. 

His heroism has earned worldwide praise, including from Governor General Sam Mostyn who said she expected he would receive a bravery award for his efforts. 

‘He doesn’t regret what he did. He said he’d do it again. But the pain has started to take a toll on him,’ Sam Issa, Ahmed’s migration lawyer, told the Sydney Morning Herald.

‘He’s not well at all. He’s riddled with bullets. Our hero is struggling at the moment.’    

The Syrian-born tobacconist was shot about five times in a spray of bullets to his left arm along with one shot to his left shoulder blade, Mr Issa said. 

As the father-of-two recovers from his first round of surgery at St George Hospital in Kogarah, his lawyer fears he will lose his left arm. 

‘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,’ he said.

Mr Al-Ahmed is pictured holding a firearm at the fallen gunman in footage of the heart-stopping rescue at Bondi Beach on Sunday night

The father-of-two is pictured rushing the gunman from behind, disrupting his shooting

Mr Al-Ahmed is pictured speaking with Governor General Sam Mostyn in hospital

The governor general visited the ailing hero in hospital on Tuesday, bringing with her flowers plucked from Admiralty House.

She gave thanks on behalf of the Australian public and King Charles, whom she said asked after Mr Al-Ahmed the night prior. 

‘For Ahmed, (King Charles) wants to send thanks for… that moment of absolute heroics that we’ve all been staggered by and so grateful for,’ Mostyn said.

She added the 43-year-old would likely receive a bravery award and that he had already received ‘many, many’ nominations. 

Footage of Mr Al-Ahmed’s intervention has been shared widely online, depicting the moment he grabbed one of the gunmen from behind and wrested his gun free.

The gunman then fell backward to the ground as Mr Al-Ahmed lifted the rifle, aiming its barrel toward the disarmed shooter but not shooting.

Akram then backed away as Mr Al-Ahmed rested the firearm against a tree before a second bystander rushed the shooter and threw an object at him.

The altercation took place in view of the second alleged gunman, Akram’s 24-year-old son, Naveed, who looked on from a nearby footbridge, gun in hand.

Mr Al-Ahmed is pictured being treated at the scene, moments after he intervened

Naveed was rushed to hospital under police guard with critical injuries, while his father was shot and killed by police at the scene.

The terrifying shooting unfolded shortly before 7pm on Sunday as hundreds gathered to attend the Hanukkah by the Sea event, marking the first day of the Jewish celebration.

Mourners have found hope in Mr Al-Ahmed’s bravery in the wake of Australia’s worst mass shooting since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre.

Before he rushed the gunman from behind, he had asked his cousin to pass on a message to his family because he feared it might cost him his life.

‘He said: “I’m going to die – please see my family and tell them that I went down to save people’s lives”,’ his cousin Jozay Alkanj told The Sydney Morning Herald.

Another cousin, Mustafa al-Assad, asked Mr Al-Ahmed how he had mustered the will to take on the gunman. ‘God gave me courage,’ Al-Ahmed replied.

‘When he saw this scene, people dying of gunfire, he told me, “I couldn’t bear this. God gave me strength. I believe I’m going to stop this person killing people”,’ he said.

Mr Al-Ahmed, a Muslim man, arrived in Sydney more than a decade ago from Syria on a student visa.

The Syrian-born father-of-two suffered multiple gunshot wounds at the site, sparking fears he may lose his left arm

According to his lawyer, Mr Al-Ahmed has felt ‘indebted’ to the Australian people ever since he was granted citizenship in 2022. 

‘Ahmed’s a humble man, he’s not interested in coverage, he just did what he was compelled to do as a human being on that day,’ Mr Issa said. 

‘He gets that gratitude from being in Australia. This is his way of conveying his gratitude for staying in Australia, for being granted citizenship.’

A GoFundMe campaign for Mr Al-Ahmed has so far raised close to $2.5million, including $100,000 from US billionaire Bill Ackman.