A harrowing new update has emerged about Ahmed Al-Ahmed, the man whose split-second decision to confront a gunman during the Bondi Beach mass shooting helped stop further bloodshed, but left him fighting for far more than a clean recovery.
The 43-year-old Syrian-born father of two young daughters, remains hospitalized after sustaining injuries that his former migration lawyer says are far more severe than initially reported.
The revelation has cast a sobering shadow over the viral footage that showed him wresting a firearm from the attacker as gunfire tore through a crowded beachside Hanukkah celebration.
“He has no feeling in his arm,” the lawyer said.
Ahmed Al-Ahmed, the man who became a hero after confronting a Bondi Beach mass shooter, may lose his arm
Image credits: 7NEWS Australia
In the widely shared video, Al-Ahmed can be seen sneaking up behind gunman Sajid Akram and grappling the rifle from his hands.
Akram fell backward as Al-Ahmed lifted the weapon, briefly aiming it toward the attacker without firing. The firearm was then rested against a nearby tree as Akram retreated, moments before another bystander rushed in and hurled an object at him.
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The confrontation unfolded in full view of the second alleged shooter, Akram’s 24-year-old son, Naveed, who stood on a nearby footbridge holding a firearm.
Police later downed Sajid Akram at the scene. Naveed Akram was critically wounded and taken to hospital under guard, where he remains in custody.
Image credits: 7NEWS Australia
For Al-Ahmed, the cost of that moment has been devastating. According to his former migration lawyer Sam Issa, who visited him at St George Hospital on Monday, the injuries are extensive and potentially life-altering.
“He’s having multiple surgeries, he’s got five g*nsh*t wounds. It’s a serious injury, far more serious than has been reported,” Issa told The Australian.
“At this stage, he says he has no feeling in his arm. I’m no medical doctor, but he said to me that it seems like one of the bullets may have hit a nerve.”
Ahmed’s lawyer said the pain has started to take a toll on his client who is “riddled with bullets”
The lawyer added that doctors had yet to remove a bullet lodged in the back of Al-Ahmed’s shoulder as of Monday night, a detail that has raised troubling questions.
“Given the fact that he was facing the shooter, how did he get a bullet in the back of his shoulder? It’s strange,” he said.
There are now fears Al-Ahmed could lose his arm.
Image credits: 10 News
Despite the pain and uncertainty, Issa said Al-Ahmed has expressed no regret.
“He said he’d do it again,” the lawyer added. “But the pain has started to take a toll on him. He’s not well at all. He’s riddled with bullets. Our hero is struggling at the moment.”
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The scale of what Al-Ahmed helped prevent has only become clearer with time.
At least 15 people lost their lives in Sunday night’s attack, including a ten-year-old girl, before he intervened.
Dozens more were seriously injured during what authorities have described as Australia’s worst mass shooting since the 1993 Port Arthur incident.
According to his relatives, Ahmed was ready to lose his life when he confronted the gunman
The shooting erupted as hundreds gathered for the Hanukkah by the Sea event, marking the first night of the Jewish festival. As panic spread and people fled for cover, Al-Ahmed made a decision he believed might cost him his life.
According to his cousin Jozay Alkanj, Al-Ahmed asked him to pass on a final message to his family before charging the gunman.
“He said: ‘I’m going to d*e, please see my family and tell them that I went down to save people’s lives,’” Alkanj told The Sydney Morning Herald.
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Another cousin, Mustafa al-Assad, recalled asking Al-Ahmed where he found the courage to act.
“God gave me courage,” Al-Ahmed replied. “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 ki**ing people.’”
For Ahmed, a Muslim man, cultural identity or religion meant nothing – he only saw innocent people suffering
Image credits: 7NEWS Australia
Al-Ahmed, a Muslim man who arrived in Sydney more than a decade ago from Syria on a student visa, was granted Australian citizenship in 2022 after a long legal battle that reached the Federal Court.
He has run the Cigara tobacconist and specialist convenience store in Sutherland since 2021.
Image credits: Audrey Richardson/Getty Images
His father, Muhammad Fateh al-Ahmed, emphasized that religion or the cultural identity of the victims played no role in his son’s decision to act.
“When he did what he did, he wasn’t thinking about the background of the people he’s saving, the people dying in the street,” he said.
“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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Al-Ahmed has since been visited in hospital by New South Wales Premier Chris Minns, who called him a “genuine hero” and said there was “no doubt” his actions saved lives.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese echoed that sentiment.
“We have seen Australians today run towards danger in order to help others. These Australians are heroes and their bravery has saved lives,” he said.
Public support has poured in alongside official praise. A fundraiser campaign launched for Al-Ahmed has raised close to $2 million, including a $100,000 donation from US billionaire Bill Ackman.
“Prayers.” People all over the world joined to wish Ahmed a fast recovery
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