12/15/2025
There are likely to be many notable acts of bravery discovered to have happened during the shooting at Bondi Beach in Australia, but the selflessness of Ahmed al Ahmed (some outlets saying it's Ahmed el-Ahmed) can't be overstated.
While thousands of people were rightfully sprinting away and seeking any cover they could find, al Ahmed saw an opportunity from his position and he risked his life to seize on that opportunity, disarming one of the gunmen who was actively firing upon a crowd of Jewish community members gathered in celebration.
After stripping away the gunman's weapon and securing it, he was targeted by the other gunman, catching at least one bullet (there are several conflicting accounts about the number of wounds)
Ahmed is a greengrocer.
He owns/operates a fruit stand/shop in the Sutherland area of Sydney.
He is a father of two.
He is Muslim.
He saved countless Jewish members of his community by acting.
He lives in a country where the rhetoric against his religion and skin tone has seen a dramatically negative turn. But here he is, risking his life to save many others.
What a hero.
My wife and I were lucky enough to visit Bondi Beach during a trip ten years ago, and loved it. It's a major tourist destination so it was a bit more chaotic than most beaches we visited in Australia, but it was easy to understand why it was beloved by all kinds of people. Like the Jewish community who were using the space to mark the first day of Hanukkah last night, whose lives have been inexorably scarred by this attack.
Reports currently say eleven are dead in the targeted attack.
Who knows how many more might have died if not for the actions of Ahmed al Ahmed, of Sydney.
