‘Hero’ bystander tackles gunman at Australia’s Bondi Beach shooting

al Jazeera:

‘Hero’ bystander tackles gunman at Australia’s Bondi Beach shooting

Officials and social media users have hailed bystander Ahmed al-Ahmed for disarming one of the attackers as seen in a viral video

Bystander disarms Bondi Beach gunman during mass shooting in Sydney

By Al Jazeera Staff and News Agencies
Published On 14 Dec 2025

A bystander who was filmed tackling and disarming an assailant during a shooting at a Jewish holiday event in Sydney, Australia, has been praised as a hero whose actions may have saved lives.

On Sunday, two suspects opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach, killing at least 15 people.

Footage uploaded to social media shows a bystander in a car park running up to one of the gunmen, who holds a long rifle. The bystander then tackles the suspect, wrestles the rifle away from him and points the weapon back at him.

The disarmed gunman loses his footing and appears to back away towards a bridge, where the second attacker was located. The video ends by showing the bystander placing the gun down on the ground, propping it up against a tree.

On Monday, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed media reports that Ahmed al-Ahmed, a 43-year-old fruit shop owner, was the bystander who intervened.

“Ahmed al-Ahmed took the gun off that perpetrator at great risk to himself and suffered serious injury as a result of that, and is currently going through an operation today in hospital,” Albanese told reporters.

Albanese said the actions of the two attackers were “completely out of place with the way that Australia functions as a society”, contrasting them with al-Ahmed’s response.

“At the best of times, what we see is Australians coming together. And what I want is for Australians to come together, for this to be reinforcing the need for us to promote national unity, and that is critical. There is no place in Australia for anti-Semitism. There is no place for hatred,” Albanese said.

A relative of al-Ahmed, who identified himself as Mustafa Asad, told the Australian television news service 7News that al-Ahmed was shot twice during the incident.

“He’s in hospital, and we don’t know exactly what’s going on inside,” Asad told the outlet. “We do hope he will be fine. He’s a hero, 100 percent.”

In a separate interview with the Al Araby television network, Asad explained that al-Ahmed “is an Australian citizen of Syrian origin, from Idlib in Syria, from the village of Nayrab”.

He described al-Ahmed as someone who would not hesitate to step in to stop death and suffering.

“He couldn’t bear to see people dying,” Asad told the television station. “It was a humanitarian action.”



Australian PM declares Sydney shooting a 'terrorist' attack targeting Jews


As a video of al-Ahmed went viral, social media users praised his quick thinking and heroic actions.

“Australian hero (random civilian) wrestles gun off attacker and disarms him. Some people are brave and then some people are … whatever this is,” one person said in a post on the platform X.

“This Australian man saved countless lives by stripping the gun off one of the terrorists at Bondi beach. HERO,” another said.

Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales state, where Sydney is located, said it was the “most unbelievable scene I’ve ever seen”.

“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.”

Al-Ahmed’s actions have even gained international plaudits. New York City comptroller Brad Lander praised al-Ahmed’s “extraordinary courage”.

“A Muslim, 43-year-old father of two, who bravely risked his life to save his neighbors celebrating Hanukkah,” Lander wrote on social media. “Praying for his full and speedy recovery. And so deeply inspired by his example.”

New York City’s Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani likewise held al-Ahmed up as an example of courage against hate.

“On Bondi Beach today, as men with long guns targeted innocents, another man ran towards the gunfire and disarmed a shooter,” Mamdani wrote.

“Tonight, as Jewish New Yorkers light menorahs and usher in a first night of Hanukkah clouded by grief, let us look to his example and confront hatred with the urgency and action it demands.”