Parents of man who wrestled gun from Bondi Beach shooter call son a 'hero'

By Nabil Al-Nashar and Miriah Davis, ABC

The parents of a fruit shop owner who tackled and disarmed one of the Bondi Beach attackers have called their son a hero, as he awaits multiple surgeries for gunshot wounds.

Incredible footage shows Ahmed Al Ahmed, 43, running up to one of the gunmen from behind before taking the weapon off him.

A second civilian runs towards the now-unarmed shooter and throws an object at him. As the shooter starts to walk away, the two remain crouched behind a tree.

Ahmed's parents told the ABC he was shot four to five times in his shoulder, with several of the bullets still lodged inside of him.

Mohamed Fateh Al Ahmed and Malakeh Hasan Al Ahmed said they landed in Sydney from Syria only a couple of months ago and had been separated from their son since he came to Australia in 2006.

'He saw people were dying'

Ms Ahmed said she kept "beating myself up and crying" when she received the call her son had been shot in "an accident".

"He saw they were dying, and people were losing their lives, and when that guy [the shooter] ran out of ammo, he took it from him, but he was hit," she said.

"We pray that God saves him."

Ahmed Al Ahmed was having coffee with a friend in Bondi when he heard gunshots ring out, according to his parents.

He had spotted one of the gunmen crouched behind a tree, and when his ammo ran out, Ahmed Al Ahmed approached him from behind, managing to wrestle the gun from his hands.

"At the same moment, his [the armed man's] other friend was on the bridge ... it seems he had a sniper rifle, or I don't know, he tried to kill him and hit him in his shoulder," his father said.

They said the father of two daughters - aged three and six - would have done anything to protect anyone, regardless of their background or faith.

"When he did what he did, he wasn't thinking about the background of the people he's saving, the people dying in the street," Mr Ahmed said.

"He doesn't discriminate between one nationality and another. Especially here in Australia there's no difference between one citizen and another."

Child as young as 10 among victims killed

At least 15 people were killed when Naveed Akram, 24, and his father Sajid Akram, 50, opened fire on Jewish patrons attending a Hanukkah festival on Sunday.

The ages of the victims ranged from as young as 10 to 87 years old.

Another 42 people were taken to hospital with their conditions ranging from stable to critical.

The 24-year-old gunman is in hospital under police guard following a shootout with police, which killed his father.

During a press conference on Monday, Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said he was "likely" to face criminal charges.

Commissioner Lanyon said lives were saved because of the actions of bystanders.

"I think we have seen very clearly on footage, the bravery of officers and members of the public who took very prompt action," he said.

"It would have been an incredibly chaotic and terrifying scene even for well-trained officers."

Mr and Ms Ahmed are still waiting for surgeons to remove the bullets lodged in their son's shoulder, with some suspected to have struck deep into the bone.

Family calls on PM for help

They fear that due to their age, they won't be able to help their son in his recovery.

As a result, they are calling on the Albanese government to help his two brothers, one from Germany and the other from Russia, travel to Australia to support the family.

"He needs help now as he's become disabled now," Ms Ahmed said.

"We need our other children to come here to help."

A fundraiser set up on behalf of Ahmed Al Ahmed has so far raised AU$550,000 in 12 hours.

Bill Ackman, a Jewish investment banker worth more than AU$9.5 billion, has also spruiked the fundraiser on his social media.

- ABC