Man Hailed As Hero After Tackling And Disarming Bondi Beach Shooter In Harrowing Viral Video

According to reports from Australia's New South Wales (NSW) Police Force, on the evening of Sunday, December 14, two gunmen opened fire on a crowd gathered at Sydney's Bondi Beach to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah.

Fourteen people died at the scene and two more later succumbed to their injuries, bringing the death toll to 16. An additional 40 people were confirmed injured.

The gunmen exchanged fire with police, but were stopped at the scene.

One died and the other was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Two NSW police officers suffered gunshot wounds during the attempt to apprehend the shooters and are in serious but stable condition.

New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon reported six firearms belonging to the gunmen were recovered at the scene. Earlier reports stated there were only three guns.

As surveillance, drone, and personal video footage was reviewed, several heroic efforts by members of the public emerged.

Ahmed al-Ahmed, a tobacconist and store owner, was captured on video approaching one of the gunman from behind as they fired into the crowd. The Syrian immigrant was able to wrestle the rifle away from the gunmen.

Video showed Al-Ahmed holding the gunman at bay, but then placing the gun against a nearby tree.

Several reports have stated the gun al-Ahmed stripped off the shooter jammed which allowed the gunmen to walk away from Al-Ahmed and towards the other gunman on the bridge. Both gunmen were shot by police moments later.

You can see video footage of Ahmed al-Ahmed's actions here:

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the press:

"Ahmed al-Ahmed took the gun off that perpetrator at great risk to himself and suffered serious injury as a result of that, and is currently going through an operation today in hospital."

"He was trying to get a cup of coffee, simple as that, and found himself at a moment where people were being shot in front of him. He decided to take action and his bravery is an inspiration for all Australians."

Conflicting news reports stated al-Ahmed was shot four or five times in his left arm.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said:

"[It was the] most unbelievable scene I’ve ever seen. That man is a genuine hero, and I’ve got no doubt that there are many, many people alive tonight as a result of his bravery."

Across his social media, New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani shared:

"The attack at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney today was a vile act of antisemitic terror. I mourn those who were murdered and will be keeping their families, the Jewish community, and the Chabad movement in my prayers. May the memories of all those killed be a blessing."

He added:

"On Bondi Beach today, as men with long guns targeted innocents, another man ran towards the gunfire and disarmed a shooter. Tonight, as Jewish New Yorkers light menorahs and usher in a first night of Hanukkah clouded by grief, let us look to his example and confront hatred with the urgency and action it demands."

@ZohranKMamdani/X

Editor-in-Chief Zvika Klein wrote in an opinion piece in The Jerusalem Post:

"If there is a Jewish Nobel for saving Jews, Ahmed al-Ahmed just won it. Ahmed al-Ahmed belongs in that moral family tree of the 'Righteous Among the Nations'."

The title "Righteous Among the Nations" was created for non-Jews who risked everything to save Jews during the Holocaust, recognized by Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, under a framework established by Israeli law. Honorees include the Ulma family, Oskar Schindler, Raoul Wallenberg, Irena Sendler, and Chiune Sugihara.

He continued:

"...in the middle of chaos, one man did the unthinkable."

"...he moved toward the attacker, wrapped him from behind, wrestled away the long gun, and forced the shooter to retreat. He was shot and hospitalized, but his split-second decision is widely credited with preventing even greater carnage."

"It is time for Jewish organizations in Australia and worldwide to elevate Ahmed al-Ahmed as a symbol of what courage looks like when it is unscripted and unpolished, when it comes from instinct and decency rather than ideology."

Klein also warned:

"The Bondi Beach attack will be exploited by extremists who want to turn it into fuel for collective blame, collective suspicion, and collective hate. That road leads nowhere good."

As news of al-Ahmed's actions spread, a second video caught on a vehicle's dashcam showed an older couple also confronting and disarming one of the gunmen.

The video, seen below, was authenticated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Reuters after it was shared by a woman who wished to remain anonymous.

In an interview with ABC, the woman said she had grabbed her two children and pushed them to the floor upon hearing gunfire and didn't realize what her vehicle's cameras captured until later.

Family members positively identified Boris and Sofia Gurman—Russian immigrants to Australia—as the couple in the video. Married for 34 years, both Boris and Sofia were killed at the scene and may have been the gunmen's first victims.

In a statement, their family shared:

"We are heartbroken by the sudden and senseless loss of our beloved Boris and Sofia Gurman."

"In recent days, we have become aware of footage showing Boris, with Sofia by his side, courageously attempting to disarm an attacker in an effort to protect others. While nothing can lessen the pain of losing Boris and Sofia, we feel an overwhelming sense of pride in their bravery and selflessness."

"This encapsulates who Boris and Sofia were—people who instinctively and selflessly tried to help others. Boris and Sofia were devoted to their family and to each other. They were the heart of our family, and their absence has left an immeasurable void."

A fourth individual, Reuven Morrison, was filmed throwing bricks at the gunmen al-Ahmed had just disarmed, as others escaped. Morrison, a 62-year-old immigrant from the former Soviet Union, was also later shot and killed.

His daughter, Sheina Gutnick, upon seeing footage of a man running towards the shooter and throwing objects to drive him away, recognized him at once, saying:

"That’s my dad. I have friends who were hiding their babies under them on the ground who told me, ‘Your dad saved us’ because he took minutes off the shooting—he got the shooters away from the scene of people."

"If there was one way for him to go on this earth, it would be fighting a terrorist. There was no other way he would be taken from us. He went down fighting protecting the people he loved most."

As predicted by Klein in his Jerusalem Post Op-Ed, opportunistic right-wing pundits and politicians were quick to blame immigration or all Muslims for the shooting.

New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino exploited the shooting to get herself on Fox News after calling on the Trump administration to denaturalize Muslim citizens and expel them.

@VickieforNYC/X

Paladino further claimed all "Western nations" need to expel all of the Muslims in their countries regardless of their citizenship or years in that nation.

A significant number of enslaved Africans brought to the Americas were Muslim, with estimates ranging from 10-30%. Some, like Omar ibn Said and Yarrow Mamout, were able to preserve their faith despite being forced to publicly practice Christianity.

A free Muslim presence in the United States was established in the early part of the 16th century almost 100 years before the arrival of the Pilgrims. Many more Muslim immigrants arrived in the 19th and 20th centuries.

People like Paladino seem to ignore that all four bystanders who put their lives on the line to protect others were immigrants.

And one is a Muslim.

As Tuesday's Sydney Morning Herald headline put it:

"Four heroes tried to stop the Bondi terrorists."

"Three paid with their lives."

May Boris and Sofia Gurman and Reuven Morrison rest in peace and may Ahmed al-Ahmed make a full and speedy recovery.