- Ahmed Al Ahmed disarmed a gunman during the Bondi Beach attack in Sydney
- He was wrongly identified as a fruit seller from Sutherland Shire in early reports
- Al Ahmed owns a tobacco and speciality convenience store since 2021
In the hours after one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern Australian history, the footage that travelled fastest across social media was of a man lunging from behind, wrapping his arms around a gunman, wrestling a firearm away as shots rang out at Sydney's Bondi Beach. The man was quickly hailed as a hero. His name, Ahmed Al Ahmed, was widely shared. So too was a detail that turned out to be wrong.
Ahmed Al Ahmed, in his 40s, who confronted and disarmed one of the attackers during Sunday night's antisemitic assault on a Jewish gathering at Bondi, is not a fruit seller from Sydney's Sutherland Shire, despite early reports. He is, in fact, the owner of a tobacco and speciality convenience store, which he has operated since 2021.
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The misidentification spread rapidly as Australians searched for ways to express gratitude in the aftermath of the attack, which left at least 15 people dead and dozens more wounded. Some well-wishers mistakenly directed messages of support to a fruit business in southern Sydney, believing it was owned by Al Ahmed.
The business, Sutherland Best Fresh, moved quickly to correct the error.
"So sad to see this tragedy happen this afternoon in Bondi," the owners wrote in a Facebook post on Monday morning. "There has been a miscommunication ... on where this great Australian hero's fruit shop location is. We do not know who Ahmed is, nor the location of his fruit shop. We congratulate this hero and wish him a speedy recovery. Praying for those who have been affected."
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By then, Al Ahmed was already recovering in the hospital, having been shot twice during the confrontation. His actions, captured on video and broadcast across Australian and international media, are widely believed to have prevented further loss of life.
The Moment At Bondi
The attack unfolded shortly after 6:45 pm (local time) on Sunday, as thousands of people crowded Bondi Beach at the end of a summer day. Among them were hundreds attending "Chanukah by the Sea", a public celebration marking the start of the eight-day Hanukkah festival, held in a small park just off the beachfront.
Witnesses told police that two gunmen opened fire from an elevated footbridge leading to the beach. Video footage showed people in swimwear fleeing across the sand as shots echoed through the area. The attack lasted about 10 minutes before police intervened.
It was during this chaos that Al Ahmed, who had gone to Bondi with a friend for coffee, encountered one of the attackers at close range.
Speaking to Australia's ABC, his father, Mohamed Fateh Al Ahmed, said his son and his friend were shocked when they arrived to find armed men firing into crowds.
"Their lives were in danger," he said. "He noticed one of the armed men at a distance."
According to his family, Al Ahmed saw people lying on the ground, some bleeding heavily. At that point, his father said, instinct took over.
"When he saw people laying on the ground and the blood everywhere, immediately his conscience and his soul compelled him to pounce on one of the terrorists and rid him of his weapon," Mohamed Fateh Al Ahmed said.
