Ahmed al Ahmed, the man hailed as a hero for tackling one of the gunmen behind an antisemitic attack on Australia’s Bondi Beach earlier this month, is speaking out in the aftermath of the massacre.
In an exclusive interview with CBS News that airs Monday on “CBS Mornings,” al Ahmed said he “didn’t worry about anything” except for the lives he could potentially save as he sought to disarm the shooter.
“My target was just to take the gun from him, and to stop him from killing a human being’s life and not killing innocent people,” he recalled. “I know I saved lots, but I feel sorry for the lost.”
Al Ahmed, a Syrian-Australian Muslim shop owner, has received international praise for disarming one of two gunmen accused of perpetrating the Dec. 14 mass shooting, which was Australia’s worst since 1996. Surveillance footage showed him leap out from behind a parked car along the beachfront and wrestle one assailant to the ground, successfully disarming him before al Ahmed became wounded himself.
Police identified the attackers as 50-year-old Sajid Akram, who was killed by officers at the scene, and his 24-year-old son, Naveed Akram.
This news is from CBS News.
