SYDNEY (AP) — A bystander is being hailed as a hero for saving lives after a widely seen video showed a bystander disarming a gunman during a fatal shooting at a popular Australian beach.
Video posted on social media showed a passerby wearing a white T-shirt and dark pants crouching behind a parked car before sneaking up behind a gunman, grabbing him and grabbing his gun. Bystanders then pointed their weapons at the gunman, who fell to the ground.
The intervention was widely praised, including by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. New South Wales Premier Chris Mining called it “the most unbelievable scene”.
“A man walked up to a shooter who was shooting into the community, single-handedly disarmed him and risked his own life to save the lives of countless others,” Mings said. “That man is a true hero.”
Australia’s 7 News interviewed his cousin and identified the bystander as 43-year-old Ahmed Al Ahmed.
He was shot twice and suffered injuries to his arms and hands that required surgery, according to Mustafa’s cousin, identified by news outlets. He said his cousin was a fruit shop owner from Sydney and a father of two.
“We wish him well,” Mustafa said. “He’s a hero. One hundred percent, he’s a hero.”
NSW Police acknowledged the bystander’s actions but were unable to identify him. “The investigation continues and we are still working to identify all those involved,” police said in an emailed statement.
Two gunmen attacked Hanukkah celebrations at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday, killing at least 11 people and injuring dozens more. The attack was called an act of anti-Semitic terrorism.
The massacre at one of Australia’s most popular and iconic beaches follows a wave of anti-Semitic attacks that have swept the country over the past year, although authorities have not suggested they are related to Sunday’s shooting. It was the worst shooting in nearly three decades in a country with strict gun control laws.
