Bondi Beach hero, Ahmed al-Ahmed was interviewed by CBS News, where he says his target was “just to take the gun.”
Speaking of those who died in the Sydney attack on December 14, the Syrian-Australian said, “I know I saved lots, but I feel sorry for the lost.” During the deadly attack, al-Ahmed disarmed one of the two Bondi gunmen before being shot himself five times.
Muslim shopkeeper Ahmed al-Ahmed saved many lives and prevented many deaths today.pic.twitter.com/G41FnuBVkZ
— Dilly Hussain (@DillyHussain88) December 14, 2025
At the time, Ahmed, 44, said he “didn’t worry about anything” except the lives he could save as he disarmed Sajid Akram on December 14. His courageous act was caught on camera and shared in the media and social media around the world.
“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 said.
Ahmed al Ahmed, the hero who saved countless lives in Australia:
“I know I saved lots, but I feel sorry still for the lost.”
We cannot thank you enough, Ahmed.🫶
— dahlia kurtz ✡︎ דליה קורץ (@DahliaKurtz) December 29, 2025
New South Wales premiere, Chris Minns had said that New Year’s Eve celebrations in the city will have a stronger police presence this year. He said that police carrying machine guns at the iconic Sydney New Year’s Eve celebration form part of “fundamental changes” in the country following the Bondi Beach attack.
During the incident, Akram was shot dead by police during the attack on a Hanukah event at Bondi Beach, where 15 people were shot dead. Meanwhile, his son, Naveed Akram, was shot and wounded by police, and he was later charged with 59 offences.
Video footage from the attack shows Ahmed leaping from behind a parked car to grab Sajid Akram, whose gun was knocked to the ground. Ahmed picked up the gun and pointed it at the gunman, who backed off and joined his son on a nearby footbridge.
“I jumped in his back, hit him. I hold him with my right hand and start saying a word, you know, like to warn him: ‘Drop your gun, stop doing what you’re doing,’” Ahmed said of his struggle with the gunman, adding:
And emotionally, I’m doing something, which is I feel something, a power in my body, my brain … I don’t want to see people killed in front of me, I don’t want to hear his gun, I don’t want to see people screaming and begging, asking for help, and that’s my soul asking me to do that.
Meanwhile, Ahmed said he didn’t consider shooting the disarmed gunman, saying, I didn’t think to shoot. I don’t want to put my hand in blood. I don’t think I am the one who can take life of people.”
He admitted there was no time to worry about the second gunman, saying, “I didn’t worry about anything. I was just, my target was just, to take the gun from him and to stop him from killing a human being.”
Ahmed himself was shot five times after wrestling with Akram, but he is recovering well in hospital. Reportedly, he went through three rounds of surgery at a Sydney hospital, according to a member of the local Syrian-Australian community who visited him last week.
This is beautiful. The smiles! Bondi beach hero Ahmed Al-Ahmed with the doctors looking after him at the hospital in Sydney.
And…
The doctors are *also* Syrian!
Tamer Al-Kahil from Homs.
Anas Natfaji from Aleppo.
*Three* heroes. pic.twitter.com/CFRDjsWj3J
— Ben Phillips (@benphillips76) December 18, 2025
He also told CBS: “Everything in my heart, in my brain, everything, it’s worked just to manage to save the people’s life.”
Earlier, Ahmed’s parents told BBC Arabic that their son was “driven by his sentiment, conscience and humanity.”
A tobacco shop owner in Sydney’s south, Ahmed had been having coffee with his cousin when the shooting began. His actions have been widely praised, with Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese visiting him in hospital who was filmed telling Ahmed, “Your heart is strong, your courage is inspiring.”
Meanwhile, Lubaba Alhmidi AlKahil, media director for the Australians for Syria Association, explained that Ahmed’s left arm will take some time to heal, due to his injured nerves, but will hopefully regain normal function after some six months.
While he is in hospital, his tobacco shop in Sutherland, where many people have left notes and flowers paying tribute to him, will not reopen soon. For the meantime, Ahmed will rest and recover, while spending time with his family, said AlKahil.
“He needs to get rest, he needs to spend time with his family, he has been away from his wife and daughters for a long time,” she said.
Family members have watched over Ahmed while he recovers and he been visited by well-wishers and dignitaries.
“He’s very happy, he feels very peaceful,” AlKahil added.
In the meantime, a fundraiser for Ahmed via GoFundMe has raised $2.5m.
