BONDI beach hero Ahmed Al Ahmed has revealed why he didn’t shoot armed terrorists when he had the chance.
The father-of-two risked his life when he rushed towards gunfire at a Jewish Hanukkah festival on December 14, tackling alleged gunman Sajid Akram50, and wrenching a shotgun from his hands.
But, speaking at a New York City Chabad gala on Wednesday night, he selflessly said he was simply fulfilling his “duty as a human being”.
He told the New York Post: “I do my duty. I’m helping and saving … It felt like my duty as a human being. Helping, keeping people safe.
“I’m looking at the world from the side of peace.”
The annual gala in Midtown Manhattan was hosted by the Colel Chabad, the oldest operating charity in Israel.
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The brave shopkeeper, who wore a yarmulke and had his arm still in a sling said he feels “very proud” to be called a hero.
Al-Ahmed was met by a standing ovation as he was brought to the stage by Rabbi Yehoram Ulman of the Chabad of Bondi.
Police alleged Sajid and his son, Naveed Akram, opened fire on a Jewish festival celebrating the first night of Hanukkah at Bondi Beach.
Cops fatally shot Sajid and wounded Naveed, bringing an end to the carnage.
At one point during the attack, Mr Ahmed snatched a gun from Sajid and pointed it back at him.
But he refused to shoot, despite having been shot five times himself.
Mr Ahmed spent two weeks in Sydney’s St George Hospital to undergo extensive surgeries for bullet wounds to his chest, shoulder and arm.
On Tuesday he travelled from Sydney to New York to undergo further treatment for his injuries.
During his visit he told CNN: “I didn’t shoot him because I was doing it as humility, to stop him to kill more innocent human being.
“I get five shots, it’s fine to save life. My blood for my country, Australia and for human beings around the whole world, anywhere and any place.”
Mr Ahmed spent two weeks in Sydney’s St George Hospital and has undergone extensive surgeries for bullet wounds to his chest, shoulder and arm.
During his hospitalisation more than 43,000 people donated a total of $2.5million to him through a GoFundMe. He has since sold his convenience store in Sydney’s south.
He is expected to next visit Washington DC where he hopes to meet President Donald Trump.
Mr Ahmed said: “He is a hero, of course, of the war. I love him. He is a strong man.”
The massacre claimed the lives of 15 people, including a 10-year-old girl, and left at least 40 others injured.
Cops later declared the shooting a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community, describing it as Australia’s deadliest mass shooting since 1996.
Naveed was taken to hospital under guard has since been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one count of committing a terrorist act.
Police say Sajid and Naveed Akram arrived at Bondi Beach just before 6.40pm in a silver Hyundai Elantra, armed with rifles and ammunition strapped to their waists.
The pair had reportedly been staying in a short-term rental in Campsie after travelling to the Philippines weeks earlier – a trip now under scrutiny over possible extremist influence.