The Sydney shop owner who disarmed one of the gunmen in Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in nearly three decades has spoken publicly for the first time about the split second decision that authorities say saved countless lives.
Ahmed al Ahmed tackled one of two attackers during a Hanukkah gathering at Bondi Beach on December 14, wrestling a long arm firearm away as shots rang out around him. Fifteen people were killed in the attack, which police later declared a terrorist incident targeting the Jewish community.
In verified video footage, al Ahmed can be seen charging the shooter from behind and forcing him to the ground. Speaking in an exclusive interview with CBS News, the BBC’s U.S. partner, al Ahmed described the thoughts that pushed him to act.
“I hold him with my right hand and start saying a word, like to warn him, drop your gun, stop doing what you’re doing,” he said.
Al Ahmed, a father of two who was born and raised in Syria before settling in Australia, was shot several times by the second alleged gunman during the confrontation. Despite his injuries, he said his focus never wavered.
“My target was just to take the gun from him, and to stop him from killing a human being’s life and not killing innocent people,” he told CBS News.
Police said the shooting was the deadliest mass attack in Australia since 1996, leaving forty others wounded. One of the alleged attackers, Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police at the scene.
His son, Naveed Akram, who was hospitalized after the attack, has since been charged with fifty nine offenses, including fifteen counts of murder and one count of committing a terrorist act, according to New South Wales police.
Authorities said al Ahmed’s intervention disrupted the attack and prevented further loss of life.
Read Also: Australia Moves To Buy Back Guns After Bondi Terror Attack
Al Ahmed said his actions were driven by instinct rather than calculation. “Emotionally, I feel something, a power in my body, my brain,” he said. “I don’t want to see people killed in front of me. I don’t want to see blood. I don’t want to hear his gun. I don’t want to see people screaming and begging for help. That’s my soul asking me to do that.”
He added that while he believes many lives were saved, the loss of life still weighs heavily on him.
“I saved lots of people, but I feel sorry still for the lost,” he said.
Al Ahmed was shot multiple times in the shoulder and has undergone at least three operations. In the days following the attack, he was presented with a cheque worth 2.5 million Australian dollars, raised by tens of thousands of people moved by his actions.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited him in hospital, calling him “the best of our country.” New South Wales Premier Chris Minns described him as a “real life hero.”
Earlier, al Ahmed’s parents told BBC Arabic that their son was driven by conscience and humanity.
As Australia continues to mourn the victims of the Bondi Beach attack, investigators say court proceedings against the surviving suspect are expected to continue in the coming months.