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The hero of Bondi Beach terror attack has asked for prayers from his hospital bed after he was wounded disarming considered one of the attackers.
Ahmed al Ahmed, 43, was named by family as the person who tackled considered one of the gunmen to the bottom before grabbing his gun and aiming it back at him, forcing him to retreat.
The dad-of-two was passing Bondi Beach when he heard the gunshots. He was shot twice and injured within the chaos while taking down the opposite suspected assailant.
Mr al Ahmed, a fruit shop owner, was rushed to the hospital where he’s waiting to have multiple surgeries. A GoFundMe page arrange to assist him has raised greater than AUS $1million (£496,694) inside hours.
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In a video from his hospital stretcher, Mr al-Ahmed thanked God after surviving ‘a difficult time’.
Speaking in Arabic, he said: ‘I went through a difficult time. God knows. Thanks be to God. Praise God for all the things.
‘May God reward your efforts young men.’
He continued: ‘You need to pray for us. May God heal you and convey you home safely.’
The dad-of-two, regarded as originally from Syria, is predicted to make a full recovery.
His immigration lawyer said Mr al Ahmed ‘doesn’t regret what he did’ and that he would ‘do it again’ despite his injuries and the pain which has ‘began to take a toll on him.’
The lawyer, Sam Issa, told Sydney Morning Herald: ‘He’s not well in any respect. He’s riddled with bullets. Our hero is struggling for the time being.’
Walking on the promenade he told his cousin Jozay Alkanj before sneaking up on the gunman to pass a message to his family.
He said: ‘I’m going to die — please see my family [and tell them] that I went right down to save people’s lives’,’ his cousin Alkanj told The Sydney Morning Herald.
Al Ahmed is facing more surgical procedures, Alkanj said, and there are fears he could lose his arm.
His dad, Mohamed Fatelh al Ahmed, said his son had planned to satisfy a friend for a coffee at Bondi.
He told ABC Australia through a translator: ‘They got there, and were shocked to see armed men firing weapons at terrorists.
‘Their lives were at risk. He noticed considered one of the armed men in a distance, from him hiding behind a tree.
‘My son is a hero, he served with the police and within the central security forces, and he has the impulse to guard people.
‘When he saw people laying on the bottom, and the blood in every single place, immediately his conscience and his soul compelled him to pounce on considered one of the terrorists and to rid him of his weapon.
‘I feel pride and honour, because my son is a hero of Australia.’
Chris Minns, the premier of Recent South Wales, dropped by to see Mr al Ahmed in hospital today. He said the person is a real-life hero who ‘little doubt saved countless lives when he disarmed a terrorist at enormous personal risk.’
The Bondi terror attack left 15 dead with a minimum of 40 taken to hospital with injuries.

Rabbi Eli Schlanger, Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman and a ten-year-old girl were amongst those shot dead within the massacre.
Schlanger, 41, was a father of 5 who grew up in Temple Fortune, north London.
Holocaust Survivor Alex Kleytman died as he shielded his wife on the beach.
Naveed Akram, 24, and his father Sajid, 50, allegedly opened fire into the group celebrating the Jewish festival Hannukah at Bondi Beach.
Sajid died on the scene, while Naveed was critically injured and apprehended by police. He has been arrested and stays in custody.
The phobia attack yesterday was considered one of the deadliest attacks on the Jewish community within the nation’s history.
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