Bondi hero Ahmed Al Ahmed couldn’t even SEE terrorist gunman before he disarmed him – as he reveals what he heard that spurred him into action
Bondi hero Ahmed Al Ahmed has revealed he could not see shooter Sajid Akram in the moments before he bravely wrestled his weapon from him.
Ahmed returned to the park near Bondi Pavilion at the iconic beach for the first time since December 14 for an episode of 60 Minutes that aired on Sunday.
He has avoided Bondi since the horrific terrorist attack that left 15 innocent Australians dead, the youngest of whom was just 10-years-old.
Sajid and his son, Naveed Akram, allegedly shot at a Jewish family festival which had been celebrating the first night of Hanukkah on a grassy area near the sand.
Ahmed said he had wandered into the festival looking to buy a coffee but, when the chaos unfolded, it was the screams of those around him, including children, that sparked his resolve to pounce on the gunman.
He and a stranger were hiding behind two cars in a carpark while, on the footbridge above them, the two gunman were allegedly firing off round after round.
As Sajid moved off the bridge and closer to the festival in the park, Ahmed said he could not see him and trusted the stranger hiding next to him to signal and tell him when he was approaching so he could act.
‘This guy, he kept telling me, ”He’s coming, he’s coming” and then he says, ”He’s here” and I asked God to help me and I don’t think. Just saw and do it.’
Ahmed Al Ahmed (above) was shot five times after Sajid returned to the footbridge where his son, Naveed, was allegedly stationed
A stranger hiding with Ahmed signalled to him when to act to disarm the gunman (pictured pointing the gun back at the shooter)
In an act of bravery that saw him labelled a national hero, he then wrestled the gun from Sajid and turned the weapon back onto the terrorist.
‘I ran into him and hit him with my hand, right hand in his head.
‘Then I grabbed him into my arm – you know, his face, his neck – try to hold him with my arm.’
Ahmed didn’t shoot Sajid after he had got the gun, and said it was ‘not his job’ to exact revenge but to merely stop anyone else being hurt.
‘Because I’m a human being, and I don’t wanna put my hand in blood. My target was just to take the gun and stop him from killing a human being,’ he said.
‘I was screaming, I’m swearing – something very Aussie,’ he said.
‘I started saying, ‘Motherf***er! Stop what you are doing, piece of s***’.’
He said the gunman didn’t speak, but just fled back to the footbridge.
Bondi hero Ahmed Al Ahmed was behind a car and could not see Bondi shooter Sajid Akram as he walked towards him
Sajid was fatally shot by police in the attack while his son (above) survived and recently fronted court
Sajid returned to the footbridge, allegedly alongside Naveed, and Ahmed was shot five times in his left shoulder, which he believed was revenge for trying to stop the attack.
Sajid was fatally shot by police just minutes later, quickly followed by Naveed who survived and recently made his first court appearance.
He has been charged with 59 offences including terrorism, 15 counts of murder and 40 counts of attempted murder.
The shooting lasted a little over six minutes, during which 15 innocent people were killed and more than 40 were injured.
Many of those injured, like Ahmed who has lost the use of his arm, are still recovering, and for many more the scars, both physical and mental, will be permanent.
