In the midst of Sunday's ongoing terrorist attack on the popular tourist beach, the man, identified as 43-year-old vegetable vendor Ahmed al-Ahmed, sneaked up from behind and threw himself at the shooter.
The clip has gone viral and a fundraiser has been started in support of the hero, who was himself shot in the attack. American hedge fund billionaire William Ackman, CEO of the company Perishing Square Capital Management, has now donated a lump sum of almost 100,000 Australian dollars.
The "Bondi hero's" parents, Mohammed Fateh and Malakeh Hasan al-Ahmed, are both proud of their son's actions, they tell ABC .
"I feel proud and honored that my son is an Australian hero," says the father.
"My son has always been brave and helps people," the mother adds.
Late Monday evening local time, over $1.2 million had been raised, equivalent to over 7.4 million Swedish kronor.
Ahmed al-Ahmed had undergone surgery for his injuries for the first time on Monday afternoon, local time, which went well.
"I think he has two or three operations left," his cousin Hozay Alkanj told the media, according to ABC .
