U.S. President Donald Trump is “a hero of the world” and a “strong man.” So says Ahmed Al-Ahmed, the hero who disarmed one of the attackers at Bondi Beach as terrorists fired at a crowd celebrating a Jewish holiday.
Ahmed Al-Ahmed offered his adoration Wednesday as he arrived in the U.S. for ongoing treatment of his injuries sustained during the terror incident that saw two gunmen – Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram – murder 15 people, including a ten-year-old child.
The Syrian-born father was hailed a hero after vision of him running forward before wrestling and disarming a terrorist went viral.
In footage that has been viewed millions of times around the world, Ahmed can be seen tackling the gunman, wrestling the shotgun from his grip and turning it on the attacker.
After he landed in New York for the visit, waiting journalists asked Ahmed, 43, if he would like to meet Trump during his visit to the U.S. “I wish,” Ahmed replied. “He is a hero … of the world. I love him. He is a strong man.”
Speaking in an interview on CNN, he went on to say he acted because he wanted to protect people in danger and save as many lives as he could.
“I did it as I’m a human being,” Ahmed al-Ahmed said. “I get five shots, it’s fine to save life. My blood for my country, Australia and for human beings around the whole world.”
He appeared on U.S. television with Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, the father-in-law of the late Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who was killed in the attack.
Ahmed, a father-of-two, was also the guest of honour at the annual Colel Chabad awards in New York.
He is now bound for Washington, DC, where he hopes to meet with his hero Trump.