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ISLAMABAD: Ahmed al Ahmed, a 43-year-old fruit seller, emerged as a central figure in Australia&rsquo;s deadliest mass shooting in years after confronting and disarming a gunman during a deadly attack on a Jewish gathering celebrating Hanukkah.&nbsp;Footage circulating on social media shows Ahmed rushing toward the armed attacker as shots are fired off-camera. He is seen grabbing the gunman, wrestling the weapon from his hands, and forcing the assailant to retreat at gunpoint.&nbsp;Australian broadcaster 7News identified Ahmed as the man in the video and reported that he sustained two gunshot wounds during the struggle. He is currently hospitalized.&nbsp;A relative, identified only as Mustapha, confirmed Ahmed&rsquo;s condition and praised his actions. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s in hospital and we don&rsquo;t know exactly what&rsquo;s going on inside,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We do hope he will be fine. He&rsquo;s a hero 100 percent.&rdquo;&nbsp;Authorities said the attack killed 16 people and wounded many others. Police described the shooting as a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community.&nbsp;Australian leaders publicly praised Ahmed&rsquo;s actions. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described him and others who intervened as &ldquo;heroes.&rdquo; New South Wales Premier Chris Minns echoed that sentiment during a late-night briefing.&nbsp;&ldquo;In all of this evil, in all of this sadness, there are still wonderful, brave Australians that are prepared to risk their lives to help a complete stranger,&rdquo; Minns said.&nbsp;Ahmed&rsquo;s actions also drew international attention. US President Donald Trump publicly commended him, saying his intervention prevented further bloodshed.&nbsp;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a very, very brave person, actually, who went and attacked frontally one of the shooters, and saved a lot of lives,&rdquo; Trump said, adding that Ahmed &ldquo;is right now in the hospital, pretty seriously wounded.&rdquo;&nbsp;As investigations continue, Ahmed al Ahmed is being widely recognized across Australia as a civilian who risked his life to stop a gunman and protect others.

Australasia

43-year-old Muslim man hailed as a hero after disarming a gunman during a deadly Sydney attack, sustaining gunshot wounds while saving lives

Articles tagged with "Hanukkah"

Who is Ahmed al Ahmed, man who disarmed Sydney gunman