Fact Check: Claims Misidentify Bondi Beach Hero Who Disarmed Gunman

A man captured on video wrestling a gun from one of the alleged attackers during a mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach has been misidentified online.

Australian police reported that a 50-year-old father and his 24-year-old son carried out the December 14 attack at a Jewish celebration, allegedly killing 15 people in Australia’s worst mass shooting in nearly three decades. While police have not named the two suspects, they confirmed that officers shot the older man, who died at the scene, while the younger man was critically wounded and hospitalized under police guard.

A video that has spread widely across social media platforms and verified by Reuters shows a bystander hiding behind parked cars before charging at one of the gunmen from behind, seizing his rifle and knocking him to the ground. This act of bravery likely prevented further casualties in the horrific attack.

On December 14, a website called thedailyaus.world published an article incorrectly identifying the man in the video as “Bondi Local Edward Crabtree,” describing him as a “43-year-old IT professional” and even including fabricated quotes supposedly from an interview conducted “from his hospital bed.”

However, Australian officials have confirmed that the hero in question is actually Ahmed al Ahmed, a 43-year-old Sydney resident and Muslim father of two. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese publicly named Ahmed on December 15, telling state broadcaster ABC News that he was “an example of the best of humanity.”

“Ahmed al Ahmed running towards danger, putting his own life at risk, being shot twice by the second perpetrator as he took the gun bravely off this terrorist. And that saved lives,” Prime Minister Albanese stated, highlighting the extraordinary courage displayed during the crisis.

Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales state, where Sydney is located, also confirmed Ahmed’s identity in a December 15 Instagram post. Minns revealed that he had personally visited Ahmed at St George Hospital, where he is recovering from injuries sustained during the incident.

In an emotional interview with ABC News, Ahmed’s father, Mohamed Fateh al Ahmed, expressed pride in his son’s actions, stating simply: “My son is a hero.”

When contacted by Reuters, a spokesperson for New South Wales police declined to officially confirm the identity, explaining that they cannot disclose the identity of potential witnesses to the crime.

Digital investigation indicates that thedailyaus.world, the site responsible for publishing the false identification, was registered on December 14 – the same day as the attack – raising questions about the motivation behind the misinformation. Efforts to reach the website for comment were unsuccessful.

The swift spread of this misinformation highlights the challenges facing the public in determining accurate information during crisis situations. In this case, the false identification was quickly corrected by official sources, but not before it had circulated widely.

The Bondi Beach shooting has shocked Australia, a country with strict gun control laws implemented after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, which killed 35 people. This recent attack represents a significant breach of those measures and has prompted renewed discussion about security and extremism in the country.

Ahmed’s heroic intervention, now properly attributed, stands as a powerful counterpoint to the violence of the day – demonstrating extraordinary courage in the face of danger and potentially saving numerous lives through his split-second decision to act.