The last words a heroic shopkeeper uttered before he wrestled a gun off a terrorist during the Bondi Beach shooting have been revealed by his cousin.
Sixteen people died and many more were seriously injured on Sunday (December 14) evening at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia, after two gunmen opened fire on members of the public.
Fruit seller Ahmed Al Ahmed, 43, has been hailed as a hero after he was filmed rushing towards one of the gunmen while he was shooting victims.
Mr Ahmed jumps on him, seizes the rifle and turns it around to face the terrorist who then retreats.
The father-of-two, who is of Syrian origin, sustained gunshots to his arms and hand, his family said, and is currently recovering at St George Hospital, Sydney, after surgery.
Before charging at the attacker, Mr Ahmed told his cousin Jozay Alkanji, who was with him at the time, that he presumed he would die if he intervened to stop the shooting.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that he said in what he thought would be his final moments: “I’m going to die, please see my family and tell them that I went down to save people’s lives.”
The cousins had been offered food by the group of people celebrating the Jewish tradition before shots from a gun started firing.
Mr Alkanji told the local Australian newspaper: “It was very crazy, we went behind the cars, we were seeing that people were shooting very near to us.”
Mr Ahmed’s father Mohamed Fateh al Ahmed told ABC News: “My son is a hero. He served in the police; he has the passion to defend people.
"When he saw people lying on the ground and the blood, quickly his conscience pushed him to attack one of the terrorists and take away his weapon.”
Mr Alkanji said: “He's done the first surgery. I think he's got two or three surgeries, that depends on the doctor, what he says.”
The attackers have been identified as Mr Akram, who was shot dead by police, and his son, Naveed Akram, 24, who is currently in hospital in a critical condition.
The Premier of New South Wales, Chris Minns, visited Mr Ahmed in hospital. Afterwards he said in a Facebook post: “There is no doubt that more lives would have been lost if not for Ahmed’s selfless courage.”
A fundraiser has been set up for the disarming hero. So far A$1.2 million has been raised.
