(SYDNEY) — A Sydney man is being praised as a hero for disarming one of the alleged shooters in the Hanukkah attack that left 15 dead and 42 injured at Australia’s Bondi Beach on Sunday, as seen in video obtained by ABC News

The video shows a man, identified as Ahmed al-Ahmed, 43, running towards one of the alleged shooters. He’s then seen disarming the alleged gunman before pointing his weapon back at him, prompting him to walk away.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited al-Ahmed in the hospital and told him “your courage is inspiring,” according to video of the visit posted to social media.

“Ahmed, you are an Australian hero. You put yourself at risk to save others, running towards danger on Bondi Beach and disarming a terrorist. In the worst of times, we see the best of Australians. And that’s exactly what we saw on Sunday night. On behalf of every Australian, I say thank you,” Albanese said on X.

The fruit seller was having lunch in the area with a friend when the shooting unfolded and he intervened, according to his brother, Huthaifa.

“I’m really proud about my brother,” he told ABC News.

“He’s a good man. He’s brave,” he said.

The father of two was taken to a hospital, where he was treated for bullet wounds. His brother said he is recovering in the hospital, but is not 100% yet.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns called him a “real-life hero.”

“Last night, his incredible bravery no doubt saved countless lives when he disarmed a terrorist at enormous personal risk,” Minns posted on Instagram while sharing a photo with al-Ahmed in the hospital.

“It was an honour to spend time with him just now and to pass on the thanks of people across NSW. There is no doubt that more lives would have been lost if not for Ahmed’s selfless courage,” he added.

At Sunday night’s National Menorah Lighting in Washington, D.C., Rabbi Levi Shemtov, the director of advocacy group American Friends of Lubavitch, praised al-Ahmed’s heroism and asked for prayers for his recovery.

“I ask all those across the community and beyond — here, and around the world — to please pray for the recovery of Ahmed al-Ahmed, someone who is not a member of the Jewish community, but gave up his safety and wellbeing to stop one of the gunmen and thus prevent even further loss of life. May he recover speedy and fully,” Shemtov said.

A GoFundMe page for al-Ahmed has raised almost $1.5 million with thousands of donations.

“We’re seeing an outpouring of love for Ahmed al Ahmed following his heroic actions at Bondi Beach,” the site posted on X.

Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman also shared the fundraiser on his X account Sunday, donating $99,999.

Mohamed Fateh al-Ahmed told reporters that his son is “a hero.”

“He served in the police, he has the passion to defend people,” he said. 

The victims of Sunday’s mass shooting ranged in ages 10 to 87, and the alleged gunmen are father and son, aged 50 and 24, officials said. Their names have not been released, but authorities said the father is dead and the son was hospitalized.

Six firearms were collected from the scene alongside two improvised explosives, according to officials.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the attack “an act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism” and “an act of terrorism,” in a video shared on his Instagram account.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — The alleged father and son gunmen who killed 15 people and wounded more than 40 in a mass shooting at Australia’s Bondi Beach traveled to the Philippines in the weeks leading up to the attack and may have been inspired by the ISIS terrorist organization, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

Investigators are probing the months leading up to Sunday’s shooting, when the suspected gunmen — Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24 — fired at people attending a Hanukkah event. Australian officials have described the shooting as an anti-semitic terrorist attack.

“It would appear that there is evidence that this was inspired by a terrorist organization, by ISIS,” Albanese told reporters at a Tuesday press conference.

Sajid Akram and Naveed Akram allegedly stood on an overpass bridge near the event and shouted “Allahu Akbar” as they carried out the massacre, according to a briefing distributed to U.S. law enforcement and reviewed by ABC News. The father was shot and killed by police and the son was critically hurt and hospitalized, officials said.

New South Wales Police Force Commissioner Mal Lanyon said a car registered to Naveed Akram contained IEDs and ISIS flags. 

“We continue to work through the motive of this tragedy and will continue to do so,” Lanyon said. 

Law enforcement said they are also investigating a trip taken by the alleged shooters to the Philippines in November.

“The reasons why they went to the Philippines and the purpose of that and where they went when they were there is under investigation at the moment,” Lanyon said.

Sajid Akram, who was born into a Muslim family in India, immigrated in 1998 to Australia, where he got married and had a son and a daughter, Indian authorities told ABC News. Naveed Akram is an Australian citizen, offiicals said.

Authorities noted that Sajid Akram maintained limited contact with his family in Hyderabad, Indiana, since the 1990s, visiting India on six occasions, primarily for family-related matters. Local police said there was “no adverse record” against Sajid Akram during his time in India before he moved.

Australia is now grieving the 15 victims killed, including a 10-year-old girl named Matilda and an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor.

Among the injured is a bystander, Ahmad Al Ahmad, who was seen on video jumping in and wrestling a gun away from one of the attackers, according to police.

Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales, is pushing back on criticism of the police response time.

Responding officers “acted with bravery and integrity. They didn’t take a backward step,” Minns said during a Tuesday press conference.

“They engaged the gunmen on the footbridge with handguns,” Minns said. “The offenders had long-range rifles and New South Wales police officers were responsible for killing one of them and shooting the other one and as a result saving many, many people’s lives.”

“Now there are two officers in critical care in New South Wales hospitals at the moment. They weren’t shot in the back as they were running away, they were shot in the front,” Minns said.

ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Somayeh Malekian, Helena Skinner and Dada Jovanovic contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.