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Madison Burgess
The Bondi Beach hero, Ahmed al-Ahmed, gave an emotional answer when he was asked why he risked his life to stop one of the gunmen.
On Sunday (14 December), two gunmen killed 15 people, including a 10-year-old girl and a British-born rabbi, in an attack on Bondi Beach in Sydney.
Australian police said a 50-year-old man and his 24-year-old son were behind the attack, which also left 42 people injured.
The suspected gunmen have since been identified as Sajid and Naveed Akram, respectively, and police have declared the shooting to be a terrorist incident targeting Sydney's Jewish community during a celebration on the first day of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights.
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Sajid was shot dead by police at the scene, while his son was taken to the hospital in a critical condition. New South Wales police have since confirmed that the 24-year-old has awoken from his coma and is conscious in hospital, where he is under police custody (via The Guardian).
During the incident, father-of-two and fruit and veg shop owner, Ahmed al-Ahmed, 43, from Sydney, tackled one of the gunmen by sneaking up on him and wrestling his weapon away, which was caught on video, and has since been hailed a hero by Australians and the world.
He'd taken shelter behind some parked cars but decided to put himself in danger to save the lives of many others, sustaining multiple bullet wounds in the process.
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His father, Mohamed Fateh al Ahmed, told ABC Australia that Ahmed has an 'impulse to protect people' and he previously served with the police.
The hero's family also previously said he was in hospital with bullet wounds to his arm and hand, but was in 'good spirits'.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he's met with 'Australian hero Ahmed al Ahmed and his family', adding: “I thanked him for the lives that he helped to save and I wished him all the very best with his surgery that he will undertake tomorrow.”
And now, Ahmed's family have revealed how he managed to summon such courage to disarm the shooter.
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As reported by The Mirror, in an interview with the Al Araby television network, Ahmed's cousin Mustafa al-Asaad said he told him: "God gave me strength", when speaking about how he managed the brave act.
Mustafa said: "When he saw people dying and their families being shot, he couldn’t bear to see people dying. It was a humanitarian act, more than anything else. It was a matter of conscience … He’s very proud that he saved even one life.
"When he saw this scene, people dying of gunfire, he told me, ‘I couldn’t bear this. God gave me strength. I believe I’m going to stop this person killing people’."
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According to the publication, Ahmed, who is originally from the Syrian city of Idlib, is now recovering in hospital after suffering bullet wounds to the shoulder and hand.
He allegedly has undergone one surgery successfully, with further treatment to follow.
Ahmed's father also told local media that he 'wasn't thinking about the background of the people he's saving, the people dying in the street'.
Speaking to ABC, he explained: "He doesn't discriminate between one nationality and another. Especially here in Australia, there's no difference between one citizen and another.
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"My son is a hero. He served in the police, he has the passion to defend people."
While his mother, Malakeh Hasan al-Ahmed, told Australian Broadcasting Corporation: "He saw they were dying, and people were losing their lives, and when that guy [the gunman] ran out of ammo, he took it from him, but he was hit We pray that God saves him."