Ahmed al Ahmed, hailed as a hero for tackling one of the gunmen behind an antisemitic terror attack on Sydney’s Bondi Beach earlier this month, says his only focus was saving lives.
He has spoken publicly for the first time since the December 14 shooting, which left 15 people dead and over 40 injured, telling US broadcaster CBS News he "didn’t worry about anything" except stopping the violence.
"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," the 43-year-old said.
"I know I saved lots, but I feel sorry for the lost."
The Syrian-Australian Muslim shop owner has been praised around the world after footage showed him confronting and disarming one of two attackers during a Hanukkah celebration at the popular beachfront area.
Courageous Ahmed Al Ahmed, 43, was filmed wresting a gun from the hands of a shooter in the rampage. (Source: 1News)
Dramatic video from the shooting showed al Ahmed leaping out from behind a parked vehicle near the beachfront and wrestling one of the gunmen to the ground in a potentially fatal tussle.
"I jumped in his back, hit him. I hold him with my right hand and start saying a word, you know, like to warn him, drop your gun, stop doing what you're doing, and it's come all in fast," al Ahmed recalled of the altercation.
"And emotionally, I'm doing something, which is I feel something, a power in my body, my brain," he told CBS News.
"I don't want to see people killed in front of me, I don't want to hear his gun, I don't want to see people screaming and begging, asking for help, and that's my soul asking me to do that.
"Everything in my heart, in my brain, everything, it's worked just to manage to save the peoples' life."
More than NZD$2.3 million was raised in support of al Ahmed and his family after the shooting, with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese commending him for "representing the best of Australia".
"He decided to take action, and his bravery is an inspiration for all Australians," Albanese said.
"He is a hero and that needs to be recognised and I'm absolutely certain that we will do that."
The attack marked the worst mass shooting in Australia's history since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, which left 36 dead.
Australian officials described the shooting as a targeted antisemitic attack on Sydney’s Jewish community. 15 were killed, including a 10-year-old girl, and forty others were injured and taken to hospital.
Police identified the attackers as 50-year-old Sajid Akram, who was shot dead by officers at the scene, and his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram.
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