Last year, two men opened fire on a Jewish community in Sydney – and Ahmed Al Ahmed risked his life to disarm one of them. The man’s accomplice then shot him five times. He describes what he was thinking in those fateful moments, and what happened next
When he heard the loud cracks, one after another, Ahmed Al Ahmed’s first thought was that they were fireworks. But he was confused – it was still daylight. It was his cousin who realised they were gunshots, and shouted at him to run and hide. “We ended up hiding between two cars,” Al Ahmed remembers. It was like “hell”, he says, “something like the end of life. I can hear very heavy shooting, nonstop, and people screaming – women, kids, everyone.” He could feel his heart pounding and hear his rapid breathing.
By the time it was all over, 15 people, including a 10-year-old girl, were dead, and many more wounded, shot by two gunmen who opened fire on a Jewish community celebrating Hanukah at Bondi beach in Sydney. A 16th victim has just died in hospital, almost a year after the attack. One of the gunmen was shot dead by police.
