NSW Premier, Chris Minns, has visited the bedside of Bondi massacre hero, Ahmed al-Ahmed, at St George Hospital in Sydney, where he remains in a critical but stable condition following Sunday’s mass shooting.
“Ahmed is a real-life hero. [Sunday] night his incredible bravery no doubt saved countless lives when he disarmed a terrorist at enormous personal risk,” Premier Minns wrote on social media.
“It was an honour to spend time with him just now and to pass on the thanks of people across NSW.
“There is no doubt that more lives would have been lost if not for Ahmed’s selfless courage.
“Thank you, Ahmed.”
The 43-year-old father of two young girls is being hailed a hero around the world for his actions in risking his own life to disarm one of the terrorists involved in Sunday’s massacre, with a GoFundMe page already raising more than $A1.3 million to help with his recovery.
Mr al-Ahmed’s parents, Mohamed Fateh al-Ahmed and Malakeh Hasan al-Ahmed, told ABC News their son had been shot four to five times in his shoulder by the gunmen.
“My son is a hero. He served in the police, he has the passion to defend people,” his father told ABC.
His mother told the ABC she was “beating myself up and crying” when she received the call her son had been shot.
“He saw they were dying, and people were losing their lives, and when that guy [the shooter] ran out of ammo, he took it from him, but he was hit,” she said.
“We pray that God saves him.”
Fifteen people were killed by two gunmen in the mass shooting during a Hanukah celebration at Bondi Beach on Sunday evening.
