The hero who disarmed one of the Bondi gunmen is said to be recovering in a top Sydney hotel after supporters rallied to raise $2.5 million for him.
Footage was shared worldwide of sydney shop owner Ahmed al Ahmedwrestling the gun off Sajid Akram, 50, on the day 15 people were killed in Australia.
Mr Ahmed, 44, was later shot several times by the other gunman, allegedly Sajid’s son Naveed, and underwent at least three operations on his arm.
He was presented with a cheque of AUS£2.5 million (£1.24m) after supporters from around the world donated money to help him with his recovery and as a thanks for his bravery.
The Syrian-born father-of-two was discharged form hospital over the weekend and spotted on a balcony of the luxury Crown Hotel in Sydney’s Bangaroo precinct on Monday, reports the Daily Mail.
He could be seen with his left arm in a sling, along with members of his family.
It comes as Mr Ahmed revealed what prompted his heroic act on December 14, when 15 people were shot and killed and several injured during a Jewish Hannukah festival on Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
In an interview with CBS News, he said: ‘Emotionally, I’m doing something, which is I feel something, a power in my body, my brain.’
‘I don’t want to see people killed in front of me, I don’t want to see blood, I don’t want to hear his gun, I don’t want to see people screaming and begging, asking for help.’
‘That’s my soul asking me to do that.’
Mr Ahmed said that as he held onto Sajid with his right hand he started ‘saying a word,you know, like to warn him – “drop your gun, stop doing what you’re doing”‘.
When reminded of how his actions saved many people, he acknowledged the fact, but added ‘I feel sorry still for the lost’.
During the massacre, Australia’s deadliest since 1996, Sajid was shot dead by police while Naveed was hospitalised and later charged with 59 offences including 15 counts of murder and one of committing a terrorist attack.
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who visited Mr Ahmed in hospital, described him as ‘the best of our country’ while New South Wales Premier Chris Minns called him a ‘real-life hero’.
The media director for the Australians for Syria Association, Lubaba Alhmidi AlKahil, said last week that Mr Ahmed’s arm was unlikely to regain normal function for at least six months due to injured nerves.
He added: ‘He needs to get rest, he needs to spend time with his family, he has been away from his wife and daughters for a long time.’
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