More than a million dollars in donations arrive for Ahmed al Ahmed, the hero who attacked the Bondi Beach gunman

Like many Australians strolling Bondi Beach on long, warm summer afternoons, Ahmed al Ahmed just wanted to have a cup of coffee with a friend. A bloody massacre broke out around them when two Gunmen attack Jews during Hanukkah festivities in a park near the coast.

Soon al Ahmed was crawling, crouching, between two parked cars, before lunging directly at one of the unsuspecting shooters. In a video that has been viewed millions of times around the world, the 44-year-old father can be seen tackling one of the gunmensnatching the shotgun from the man and pointing it at the attacker.

The story of a Syrian-Australian Muslim shop owner who put an end to an attack by one of the shooters on Sunday has been seized upon by a country desperately seeking solace after one of its darkest hours: the murder of 15 people while celebrating their Jewish faith.

“At a time when we have seen evil perpetrated, he shines as an example of the strength of humanity,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Tuesday, leaving a Sydney hospital where Al Ahmed is being treated for gunshot wounds. “We are a brave country. Ahmed al Ahmed represents the best of our country.”

A fundraising page set up by Australians who had never met Al Ahmed had attracted donations by Tuesday night from about 40,000 people, who gave 2.3 million Australian dollars ($1.5 million). Among the supporters was billionaire hedge fund manager William Ackman, who pledged A$99,000.

Al Ahmed, married with two young daughters, faces a long fight ahead, say those who have spoken to him since Sunday’s massacre. He was shot several times in the left arm, apparently by the second gunman in the attack as the man fired indiscriminately from a catwalk.

He has already undergone surgery and more operations are scheduled, said Lubaba alhmidi Alkahil, a spokesperson for the Association of Australians for Syria, who visited al Ahmed in hospital on Monday night. The “calm and humble” man was conscious but frail and faced at least six months of recovery, Alkahil said.

Under Australia’s tax-funded national healthcare system, Al Ahmed, who is a legal permanent resident of the country, is unlikely to face bills for his care.

In the days since the attack, a slew of floral tributes and thank-you notes have grown outside the small shop Al Ahmed owns opposite a train station in suburban Sydney. Meanwhile, he received hospital visits from Australia’s leaders, apparently telling Chris Minns, the premier of the state of New South Wales, that he would take the same action again.

He has been hailed as a hero by world leaders including US President Donald Trump and Australia’s governor-general, who is Britain’s King Charles’ representative in the country. Minns said al Ahmed saved “countless” lives in what the prime minister said was “the most incredible scene I have ever seen.”

Al Ahmed lived in the city of Najrab in Syria’s Idlib region before arriving in Australia, his cousin Mohammad al Ahmed told The News. He left Syria in 2006 after finishing his studies, before the 2011 mass protests against the government of then-President Bashar Assad, which were met with brutal repression and led to a nearly 14-year civil war.

Nayrab was heavily bombed by Assad’s forces and most of the city’s houses were razed to the ground and reduced to rubble. On Tuesday, Al Ahmed was the talk of the town.

“Ahmed really did a heroic job,” his cousin Mohammad al Ahmed told The News. “Without hesitation, he attacked the terrorist and disarmed him just to save innocent people.”

Ahmed al Ahmed’s parents, who came to Sydney this year to join their son, told Australian Broadcasting Corp. that their son had served in the police and central security forces in Syria. Father Mohamed Fateh al Ahmed said his son’s “conscience and soul” compelled him to act on Sunday.

“I feel pride and honor because my son is a hero of Australia,” the father said.

After the mass killing, a country shaken by one of the worst hate-fueled attacks ever committed on its soil, allegedly committed by an Australian resident who arrived from India in 1998 and his Australian-born son, sought hope amid its grief.

Other stories of heroism have also emerged.

They included the story of a marriage, Boris and Sofia Gurmanwho died while trying to stop one of the shooters as he got out of his car and the massacre began, their family told Australian media.

“Bondi locals lived honest, hard-working lives together and treated everyone they met with kindness, warmth and respect,” the family said in a statement. “Boris and Sofia were dedicated to their family and each other. They were the heart of our family and their absence has left an immeasurable void.”

Reuven Morrison62, also died while trying to stop the horror, according to his daughter, Sheina Gutnick. After Al Ahmed grabbed a gunman’s gun, Morrison can be seen throwing objects at the gunman, before the second man shot him.

“My dear father, Reuven Morrison was shot and killed for being Jewish at a Hanukkah event in Bondi Beach while protecting lives, while jumping, putting his own life at risk to save members of his Jewish community,” Gutnick told News themezone earlier this week.

Acts of bravery like these were cited by many on social media and in the media as examples of what it should mean to be Australian.

“When he did what he did, he didn’t think at all about the background of the people he was saving, the people who were dying in the street,” Mohamed Fateh al Ahmed said of his son. “He does not discriminate between one nationality and another, especially here in Australia there is no difference between one citizen and another.”