Bondi Beach shooting: NSW Premier Chris Minns visits hero Ahmed Al Ahmed in hospital
NSW Premier Chris Minns visited Ahmed Al Ahmed, the hero who wrestled the gun of one of the Bondi Beach attackers, in hospital on Monday.
The 43-year-old man is being treated at St George Hospital in Sydney’s south for multiple gunshot wounds sustained during Sunday’s horrific attack.
Mr Minns posted a photo with Ahmed on Instagram on Monday night, thanking the “real-life hero” for his brave actions.
“Ahmed is a real-life hero. Last night, his incredible bravery undoubtedly saved countless lives when he disarmed a terrorist at great personal risk,” Mr Minns wrote.
“It was an honor to spend time with him at this time and convey his thanks to the people of NSW.
“There is no doubt that without Ahmed’s selfless courage more lives would have been lost.
“Thank you, Ahmet.”
Mr Ahmed woke up from surgery a hero, with community support raising more than $1.7 million from his GoFundMe page.
In just 17 hours, a fundraiser was launched for the father of two girls aged three and six, with a $50,000 donation from Car Hub Australia.
Then billionaire Jewish investment banker Bill Ackman distributed $99,999 in support of Mr. Ahmed.
More than 16,400 people have contributed so far.
Mr Ahmed’s family said Mr Ahmed would do anything to protect everyone.
Ahmed’s father, Mohamed Fateh Al Ahmed, told the ABC: “When he did what he did, he wasn’t thinking about the past of the people he saved, the people dying in the street.”
“It doesn’t discriminate from one nationality to another. Especially here in Australia, there is no difference between one national and another.”
Mr Al Ahmed’s cousin, Mustafa Al-Asaad, said the bystander-turned-hero was shot in the left shoulder and hand.
Mr Al-Asaad said his cousin, an Australian citizen originally from Syria, told him: “God gave me the courage to jump on the gunman.”
“He wasn’t thinking about death when he saw the bullets flying through the air,” Mr Al Asaad told BBC Arabic overnight.
Donald Trump called Ahmed “a very, very brave person” and said his actions undoubtedly “saved a lot of lives.”
