NSW Premier Chris Minns has visited Ahmed Al Ahmed in hospital, days after the 43-year-old was seriously injured while intervening in the Bondi Beach shooting.
Al Ahmed remains in St George Hospital in Sydney’s south, where he is being treated for multiple gunshot wounds sustained during Sunday’s attack.
On Monday night, Minns shared a photo of the visit on Instagram, praising Al Ahmed’s actions and describing him as a “real-life hero”.
“Ahmed is a real-life hero. Last night, his incredible bravery no doubt saved countless lives when he disarmed a terrorist at enormous personal risk,” Minns wrote.
“It was an honour to spend time with him just now and to pass on the thanks of people across NSW.
“There is no doubt that more lives would have been lost if not for Ahmed’s selfless courage.
“Thank you, Ahmed.”
Al Ahmed woke from surgery to an outpouring of public support, with more than $1.7 million raised through a GoFundMe campaign.
The fundraiser, launched less than a day earlier for the father of two daughters aged three and six, received an initial $50,000 donation from Car Hub Australia. Within 17 hours, thousands of people had contributed.
Billionaire Jewish investment banker Bill Ackman later donated $99,999 in support of Mr Al Ahmed.
More than 16,400 people have contributed to the appeal so far.
Speaking to the ABC, Al Ahmed’s parents said their son would have acted to protect anyone in danger.
“When he did what he did, he wasn’t thinking about the background of the people he’s saving, the people dying in the street,” Al Ahmed’s father, Mohamed Fateh Al Ahmed, said.
“He doesn’t discriminate between one nationality and another. Especially here in Australia, there’s no difference between one citizen and another.”
Al Ahmed’s cousin, Mustafa Al-Asaad, said Al Ahmed was shot in the left shoulder and hand.
Al-Asaad said his cousin, an Australian citizen originally from Syria, told him that “God granted me courage to jump on the gunman”.
“He wasn’t thinking of death when he saw bullets flying in the air,” Al Asaad told BBC Arabic overnight.
Former US President Donald Trump also praised Al Ahmed, describing him as a “very, very brave person” and saying his actions undoubtedly “saved a lot of lives”.
Images: Facebook
