‘I went down to save lives’: Hero fruit vendor who tackled terrorist thought he was going to die | EUROtoday

A fruit store proprietor who tackled one of many Bondi Beach gunmen instructed his cousin to inform his household he “went down to save people’s lives” earlier than he stepped in to behave.

Ahmed al-Ahmed, a father-of-two from Sydney, was seen tackling one of many gunmen earlier than wrestling his weapon away from him throughout an antisemitic terrorist assault at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration in Sydney on Sunday.

Video footage of Mr Ahmed intervening circulated broadly on social media following the assault.

He was on the seaside together with his cousin Jozay Alkanj, who instructed The Sydney Morning Herald that Mr Ahmed requested him to move a message to his household earlier than he acted.

Mr Alkanj mentioned Mr Ahmed instructed him: “I’m going to die — please see my family [and tell them] that I went down to save people’s lives”.

Mr Ahmed’s household beforehand mentioned he was in hospital with bullet wounds to his arm and hand, however was in “good spirits”.

His father mentioned his actions confirmed the 43-year-old’s impulse to guard individuals as he referred to as him a “hero of Australia”.

Speaking to ABC Australia by way of a translator, Mohamed Fateh al-Ahmed mentioned: “His friend told him, ‘Let’s go have coffee at Bondi.’

“They got there and were shocked to see armed men firing weapons at terrorists.

“Their lives were in danger. He noticed one of the armed men in a distance, from him hiding behind a tree.

“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 lying 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’s dad and mom instructed the broadcaster he had moved to Australia from Syria in 2006, whereas that they had solely arrived within the nation months in the past after years separated from their son.

The Times reviews that Mr Ahmed’s lawyer Sam Issa visited him in hospital at this time and had given an replace on his situation.

Issa mentioned: “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.”

His mom, Malakeh Hasan al-Ahmed, mentioned she is happy with her “do-gooder” son.

She instructed ABC Australia by way of 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.”

New South Wales Police have confirmed that 16 individuals have died following the capturing, together with one suspected gunman.

Australian police mentioned a 50-year-old man and his 24-year-old son, named in native media as Sajid and Naveed Akram, had been the suspects.

Sajid Akram was shot by police and died on the scene however Naveed Akram, who was wounded, is anticipated to outlive his accidents and face felony prices.

The two gunmen opened hearth on a crowd celebrating the beginning of Hanukkah at Campbell Parade on the Sydney seaside.

An additional 40 individuals are being handled for a spread of significant accidents, together with two cops, in line with the drive, who’ve confirmed the mass capturing was a terrorist incident that was “designed to target the Jewish community”.

Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales, instructed a press convention in Sydney that the assault represents “some of our worst fears about terrorism”, however he hailed Mr Ahmed as a “genuine hero” as he described footage of the incident as “unbelievable”.

“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,” he added.