A moment of incredible courage was captured on Bondi Beach this Sunday evening (December 14), when a local shopkeeper disarmed one of the gunmen who opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration attended by hundreds of families.
The attack, which police have formally declared a terr*rist incident, unfolded during a Chanukah by the Sea event organized by Chabad Bondi, an Orthodox Jewish organization, to mark the first night of Hanukkah.
Highlights
- A local Bondi Beach shopkeeper disarmed a gunman during an attack on a Hanukkah celebration.
- At least 16 people were fatally wounded and more than 40 injured in the antisemitic attack.
- The man's bravery moved world leaders, including Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu.
At least 16 people have been reported to have lost their lives, including a 12-year-old girl and a rabbi. More than 40 remain hospitalized.
As panic spread across the beach and gunfire echoed for nearly ten minutes, one man ran toward danger instead of away from it.
Footage of a Muslim man risking his life to stop two gunmen who opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration moved the internet
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The man has since been identified by family members as Ahmed al-Ahmed, a 43-year-old fruit stall owner who lives and works near Bondi Beach.
Video shows Ahmed, wearing a white shirt, approaching a shotgun-wielding attacker from behind near a bridge and wrestling the weapon out of his hands.
After forcing the gunman to the ground, Ahmed briefly pointed the weapon back at him before the attacker scrambled away.
Moments later, Ahmed was fired at twice by the second gunman, once in the arm and once in the hand. The attacker was identified as 24-year-old Naveed Akram, from Bonnyrigg in Sydney’s south-west.
Akram’s house is reportedly being raided by the police. He had a firearms license.
Image credits: 7news
“He’s in the hospital and we don’t know exactly what’s going on inside. We do hope he will be fine,” his cousin, identified only as Mustafa, told Australian outlet 7News.
“He’s a hero, 100 percent.”
Later footage showed Ahmed conscious but bloodied as paramedics treated him at the scene before rushing him to surgery. His family said he had no prior experience with firearms.
One of the attackers was fatally wounded, while the other is in police custody with life-threatening wounds
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Police said the attack began around 6:37 pm local time, when two suspects dressed in black opened fire on a crowded section of the beach where more than 1,000 people were gathered.
One attacker was fatally wounded at the scene. The second is in police custody in life-threatening condition. Authorities also confirmed that explosive devices were found inside a vehicle linked to the attackers and were safely removed.
Image credits: 7news
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns described the footage of Ahmed’s intervention as “the most unbelievable scene [he’d] ever seen.”
“That man is a genuine hero,” Minns said. “I’ve got no doubt that there are many, many people alive tonight as a result of his bravery.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the attack as “an act of evil, antisemitism, terr*rism that has struck the heart of our nation,” adding that “an attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian.”
While Albanese did not name Ahmed directly, he praised those who intervened.
“These Australians are heroes, and their bravery has saved lives,” he said.
The bravery of Ahmed moved leaders all over the world, including Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu
Image credits: 7news
The heroism displayed on Bondi Beach drew international reaction.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu singled out Ahmed during a cabinet meeting.
“We saw the actions of a brave man, a brave Muslim, and I salute him for stopping one of the terrorists from ki**ing innocent Jews,” Netanyahu said.
Image credits: 7news
US President Donald Trump also addressed the attack during remarks at a White House Christmas reception, calling it “a purely antisemitic attack” and praising the man who tackled the gunman as “a very, very brave person.”
Image credits: 7news
Messages of solidarity poured in from other world leaders, including King Charles, who said he was “appalled and saddened by the most dreadful antisemitic terr*rist attack,” and commended both emergency responders and members of the public “whose heroic actions no doubt prevented even greater horror.”
The Knesset, Israel’s national parliament in Jerusalem, was lit in the colors of the Australian flag as a gesture of support for Australia’s Jewish community.
Image credits: BBC
For those who were there, the trauma remains raw.
“He was holding his daughter, praying,” Rabbi Levi Shemtov said of his nephew, who survived the attack. “The bullets were whizzing right by him.”
As investigations continue and the country mourns, one image has come to define the tragedy: A man with no weapon training, no protective gear, and no obligation beyond instinct, stepping forward as others fled.
"A true hero." Netizens were inspired by the bravery of Ahmed
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