A former high-ranking counter-terrorism official has revealed why the brave bystander who stopped the Bondi Beach massacre chose not to fire the terrorist’s weapon after wrestling it away from him.
Ahmed al-Ahmed, a 43-year-old father of two, became a national hero when he grabbed terrorist Sajid Akram from behind and forcibly removed the rifle from his grasp during Sunday night’s deadly attack.
Dramatic video footage captured the moment Mr al-Ahmed raised the weapon and pointed it directly at Akram. However, he never squeezed the trigger.
Dr John Coyne, a former Australian Federal Police officer with a decade of counter-terrorism experience, explained Tuesday that Mr al-Ahmed’s restraint stemmed from his fundamental sense of humanity.
“It’s not like the movies. This is a guy who literally sacrificed, or was willing to sacrifice, himself to save lives,” Dr Coyne told reporters, according to the Daily Mail.
Dr Coyne emphasized that taking another person’s life when no immediate danger exists would have required an extraordinarily difficult split-second judgment call.
“I think it shows a deep humanity to not do that, to not be caught in the emotions. He made real decisions and I take my hat off to him,” he stated.
The counter-terrorism expert noted that even trained law enforcement or military personnel would likely have made the same decision in that situation.
By the time Mr al-Ahmed had control of the firearm, Sajid Akram was already on the ground, unarmed and presenting no physical threat.
“So even for someone who was trained, I doubt they would have pulled the trigger on an unarmed person lying on the ground,” Dr Coyne explained.
Dr Coyne currently serves as director of the National Security Program at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, bringing significant expertise to his analysis of the incident.
The expert observed that Mr al-Ahmed appeared unfamiliar with firearms based on his movements in the video.
“It looked like he was someone who saw a chance that he could stop something horrible from happening, who gave no thought,” Dr Coyne said, according to the Daily Mail.
Coyne added that Mr al-Ahmed showed complete disregard for his own safety beyond simply getting the weapon away from the attacker.
The Daily Mail reported Mr al-Ahmed has received widespread recognition for his courage, including praise from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and President Donald Trump. However, his heroic actions came at a severe personal price.
The hero sustained gunshot wounds to his shoulder and arm while taking cover behind a tree after confronting the terrorist.
He remains hospitalized at St George Hospital receiving ongoing medical treatment.
Sam Issa, Mr al-Ahmed’s former migration lawyer who visited him Monday, revealed the injuries are far more extensive than initially reported.
“He’s having multiple surgeries, he’s got five gunshot wounds. It’s a serious injury – far more serious than has been reported,” Issa disclosed, per the Daily Mail.
Despite his suffering, Mr al-Ahmed told visitors he would take the same actions again. However, the physical toll is mounting.
“The pain has started to take a toll on him. He’s not well at all. He’s riddled with bullets. Our hero is struggling at the moment,” Issa said.
Sunday night’s mass shooting claimed 15 innocent lives, including a ten-year-old girl.
Dozens more victims sustained serious injuries in the attack.
Naveed Akram, 24, and his father Sajid Akram, 50, positioned themselves on a footbridge connecting Campbell Parade to the Bondi Pavilion on Sunday evening.
From that vantage point, they opened fire on crowds attending the Hanukkah by the Sea celebration.
Reports emerged that the father-son duo traveled to the southern Philippines in November for alleged military-style training, according to a senior counter-terrorism official who spoke anonymously to ABC News.
