A man hailed for saving lives during a mass shooting at Australia’s Bondi Beach has received more than A$2.5 million (RM6.74 million) in public donations, after tens of thousands of people contributed to an online fundraiser.
Ahmed al Ahmed was injured after charging at one of the alleged attackers, wrestling away his gun and knocking him to the ground. He was later shot, believed to be by a second gunman, and remains hospitalised following surgery.
The Muslim father of two was presented with an oversized cheque at his hospital bed at St George Hospital by social media influencer Zachery Dereniowski, a co-organiser of the GoFundMe campaign. Videos of the moment were shared widely online.
More than 43,000 people from around the world donated to the fundraiser. Among them was billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who contributed A$99,999 and promoted the campaign on X. Australia’s prime minister and the state premier have also visited Ahmed in hospital to commend his bravery.
In the video, Ahmed appears overwhelmed, asking, “I deserve it?” to which Dereniowski replies, “Every penny.”
Thanking donors, Ahmed urged unity and compassion. “Stand with each other, all human beings,” he said. “Forget everything bad and keep going to save life.”
He explained that his actions came from the heart. “It was a nice day, everyone was enjoying themselves — kids, women, men, teenagers. They deserved to enjoy,” he said, raising his uninjured fist.
Ahmed, a tobacco shop owner, migrated from Syria’s Idlib province nearly 20 years ago in search of work. He did not say how he plans to use the donated funds.
The attack on Sunday left 15 people dead and dozens injured after two gunmen opened fire on crowds celebrating Hanukkah at the popular beach. Authorities allege the attackers were a 50-year-old man, who was shot dead by police, and his 24-year-old son, who remains critically injured.
