THE emotional last words of the brave shopkeeper who disarmed one of the Bondi Beach terrorists have been revealed – along with pictures of the hero recovering in hospital.
Ahmed Al Ahmed, 43, told his cousin, Jozay Alkanj, he was going to die before valiantly wrestling the rifle out of the hands of one of the gunmen in the attack that killed 15.
The Syrian Muslim migrant – made an Australian citizen in 2022 – could lose his arm after being shot five times in the horror, it was revealed yesterday.
He is said to be in agony following surgery to remove bullets that were sprayed up his left shoulder during the extraordinary feat of bravery.
A GoFundMe page set up in honour of Ahmed’s superhuman actions has already surpassed $1million in donations, with US billionaire Bill Ackman forking out $100k to thank the fruit shop owner.
Alkanj revealed to The Sydney Herald that his cousin said “I’m going to die, please see my family and tell them that I went down to save people’s lives,” before barrelling towards the gunman.
The pair had been offered food by members of the targeted Hannukah event before the shots began ringing out around the beach.
Alkanj said: “It was very crazy, we went behind the cars, we were seeing that people were shooting very near to us.”
Dramatic footage, which has over 20million social media views, shows Ahmed sneak up behind the gunman, undetected behind parked cars.
The terrorist, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, can be seen picking off victims before Ahmed swiftly disarms and knocks him to the ground.
As Akram scrambles backwards, the shopkeeper briefly turns the gun towards him but doesn’t pull the trigger.
Akram then stumbles off as Ahmed calmly places the weapon against a tree.
The hero was then wounded after coming under fire from the other gunman, 24-year-old Naveed Akram, on a nearby bridge and suffered wounds to his hand and shoulder.
Sam Issa, Ahmed’s migration lawyer, said after visiting him that he would do it again.
He said: “He doesn’t regret what he did. He said he’d do it again 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.”
US President Donald Trump has also praised Ahmed’s heroics.
“In Australia, as you’ve probably read, there’s been a very, very brave person who went and attacked one of the shooters.
“He saved a lot of lives, a very brave person who is right now in the hospital, pretty seriously wounded.
“I have great respect for the man who did that.”
Mr Ahmed’s father, Mohamed Fateh al Ahmed, told ABC Australia his son has an “impulse to protect people”, having previously served with the police.
Speaking through a translator, he told the broadcaster: “My son is a hero, he served with the police and in the central security forces, and he has the impulse to protect people.
“When he saw people laying on the ground, and the blood everywhere, immediately his conscience and his soul compelled him to pounce on one of the terrorists and to rid him of his weapon.
“I feel pride and honour, because my son is a hero of Australia.”
Mr Ahmed is in hospital with bullet wounds to his arm and hand, but was in “good spirits”, his family previously said.
His mother, Malakeh Hasan al Ahmed, said she was proud of her son, describing him as a “do-gooder”.
She told ABC Australia through a translator: “I’m proud that my son was helping people. He saved lives, souls. God would not harm him because he was a do-gooder.
“He saw they were dying and people were losing their lives, and when that guy ran out of ammo, he took it from him, but he was hit.
“We pray that God saves him.”
Another relative of the brave shopkeeper told Channel Seven Al Ahmed had no experience with guns, adding: “He’s a hero, he’s 100 per cent a hero.”
Chris Minns, Premier of New South Wales, has paid tribute to the selfless act of bravery, which forced the attackers to retreat.
He said: “It’s the most unbelievable scene I’ve ever seen. A man walking up to a gunman who had fired on the community and single-handedly disarming him, putting his own life at risk to save the lives of countless other people.
“That man is a genuine hero, and I’ve got no doubt that there are many, many people alive tonight as a result of his bravery.”
Cops confirmed 16 people including one 10-year-old girl died after two gunmen opened fire on a group of people in Archer Park at Bondi Beach.
Bondi resident Morgan Gabriel, 27, said she had been heading to a nearby cinema when she heard what she thought were fireworks, before people started running up her street.
“Their phones had been left down the beach, and everyone was just trying to get away,” she said, adding that two of the six or seven she sheltered turned out to be close friends.
“It’s a very sad time this morning,” she said, with the beach bare of the usual throng of swimmers, surfers and runners.
“So this is very, very quiet. And there’s definitely a solemn sort of vibe.”
A Holocaust survivor was also shot dead while trying to protect his wife during the terrifying shooting.
Alex Kleytman was killed while shielding his wife Larisa from bullets, saving her from death in his selfless final act.
French citizen Dan Elkayam was also killed in the shooting, according to France’s president Emmanuel Macron.
Reuven Morrison and Rabbi Yaakov Levitan were also named among those killed in the attack, according to Chabad.
The horror attack took place as a Hanukkah event was in full swing.
Mourners paid respects and laid flowers at a makeshift memorial at the Bondi pavilion draped in Israeli and Australian flags as police and private Jewish security guards patrolled.
A Hannukah menorah was also projected onto the sails of the iconic Sydney Opera House to honour the victims.
“What we saw yesterday was an act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism, an act of terrorism,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters after laying flowers at Bondi Beach.
“The Jewish community are hurting today,” he added.
“Today, all Australians wrap our arms around them and say, we stand with you. We will do whatever is necessary to stamp out antisemitism. It is a scourge, and we will eradicate it together.”
Thousands of Aussies have turned out in just one day to donate blood following the horrific massacre.
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15641219/bondi-massacre-hero-recovers-hospital-last-words-revealed/
