Young girls react as they leave the scene of a shooting that occurred on Bondi Beach, in Sydney, on Dec. 14, 2025. (Credit: Saeed Khan/AFP)
BEIRUT — The video of a man, dubbed a "hero" by Australian media, disarming one of the two assailants in the attack that brought tragedy to Sydney's Bondi Beach on Sunday, has been widely shared across social media.
The shooting, which occurred as a crowd was celebrating the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, left 11 dead and 29 injured.
The footage shows one of the shooters, dressed in a black shirt and white pants near the Campbell Parade parking lot, opening fire on people gathered on the adjacent lawn.
A bystander, later identified as 43-year-old father Ahmad al-Ahmad, approaches the gunman through the parking lot, using a parked car for cover to get as close as possible without being seen.
Once near enough, he rushes the shooter, grabs him in a bearhug, and struggles with him until he manages to wrest the rifle away. The shooter falls backward while his pursuer takes the weapon and points it at him.
The gunman then retreats and heads on foot toward the parking lot bridge, where the second assailant was located. Ahmad places the rifle against a tree and backs away. In the footage, another bystander is then seen chasing the shooter and throwing an object at him as he heads toward the bridge.
One of the two attackers was killed and the other is in critical condition, according to the New South Wales police. The attack occurred Sunday at 6:45 p.m. (07:45 GMT) on Bondi Beach, Australia's most famous beach, which is usually packed with walkers, swimmers and surfers on weekends.
During his intervention, Ahmad was struck by at least two bullets, according to several Australian media outlets including The Sydney Morning Herald. His cousin, identified only as Moustapha, told Seven News outside St George Hospital, where Ahmad is undergoing surgery, that he had been shot in the arm and hand after confronting the gunman.
Originally from the Sutherland Shire district in Sydney, Ahmad owns a fruit shop and reportedly has no known experience with firearms, Seven News reports.
