More than $2.6 million has been raised for the man who disarmed one of the attackers during a mass shooting targeting a Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, last weekend.
Following the attack – which took place on December 14 and left at least 15 people dead – a GoFundMe page was launched for Ahmed al Ahmed, who was hailed as a hero after a video showed him tackling and disarming one of the alleged gunmen.
As of Sunday morning, $2.64 million had been raised through nearly 45,000 donations for al Ahmed, a Syrian-born Australian Muslim, who was among dozens wounded in the attack when a second gunman shot at him.
“In a moment of chaos and danger, Ahmed al-Ahmed stepped forward without hesitation,” the fundraiser said. “His actions were selfless, instinctive and undeniably heroic, without regard for his own safety. Early reports indicate he was shot twice while protecting others.”
SURVIVING AUSTRALIA TERROR SUSPECT FACED CHARGES AFTER FATAL ATTACK
New South Wales Prime Minister Chris Minns visits Ahmed Al Ahmed, 43, at a hospital in Sydney, Australia, on December 15, 2025. (NSW Premier Chris Minns Account/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Organizers added that the campaign was created to show gratitude and support for someone who “showed incredible courage when it mattered most.”
Footage from the scene shows Al Ahmed, father of two young daughters aged 5 and 6, sneaking up behind the attacker as shots are fired off camera. He is then seen tackling the gunman and wrestling the weapon away from him, before pointing the weapon at the attacker and holding him at gunpoint.
One of the fundraiser’s organizers, social media influencer Zachery Dereniowski, already visited Ahmed in a Sydney hospital on Friday to present him with a check for $2.5 million, the amount raised at the time.
AUSTRALIA’S anti-terror police arrest seven men as country lays youngest BONDI Beach victim to rest
Surfers and swimmers take to the ocean in tribute after the shooting Sunday at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Friday, December 19, 2025. (Steve Markham, File/AP Photo)
In a video shared on social media, Al Ahmed appeared overwhelmed by the gesture.
As he sat in his hospital bed, Al Ahmed asked, “Do I deserve it?”
Dereniowski responded, “Every cent.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Al Ahmed earlier this week and called him an ‘Australian hero’.
“You put yourself in danger by saving others, by running into danger on Bondi Beach and disarming a terrorist,” he wrote on
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Al Ahmed’s actions as “brave,” and Chris Minns, the prime minister of New South Wales, Australia, stated that his “incredible courage has undoubtedly saved countless lives.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Rabbi Yossi Friedman leads a tribute to the victims of a mass shooting during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach on December 14 in Sydney, Australia, December 20, 2025. (Eloisa Lopez/Reuters)
The Australian government is investigating the shooting as a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community.
A 24-year-old man who allegedly carried out the terror attack with his 50-year-old father was charged with murder. The father died “on the spot,” police said.
