A man hailed as a hero for disarming one of the Bondi Beach attackers has been charged with assaulting his father. Ahmed al Ahmed, 44, was charged by New South Wales Police with common assault and “stalk or intimidate” for allegedly putting his father in a headlock on 9 March.
Mr Ahmed rejected the allegations as “untrue” and told local media he was “shocked” by the situation. The fruit and vegetable seller was praised for helping stop the attack at a Jewish event last December that left 15 people dead. He reportedly charged at one of the gunmen from behind, seized his rifle and knocked him to the ground, but was shot multiple times and required several surgeries.
The attack was carried out by father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram. Sajid was shot dead by police, while Naveed, 24, was arrested and later charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one of committing a terrorist attack. Mr Ahmed was hailed as a hero by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and received worldwide praise. A fundraiser to support him raised $2.6m.
Mr Ahmed told Nine Radio he was not a violent person, saying, “I never hurt anyone and I never been violent. And the Bondi situation, it showed I, from the first bit when I disarmed the terrorist and take his gun, throw it away I didn't hurt him, I'm not violent.” He said his main focus since the incident had been to look after his health, with more surgeries planned on his arm.
He said the situation with his family had been complicated by the donations from the fundraiser. Two of his brothers, Hozifa al-Ahmed and Sameh al-Ahmed, were issued interim apprehended domestic violence orders last month after allegedly making verbal threats against him over the phone. They were granted conditional bail after being charged with using a carriage service to harass or offend.
