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The creators of an online fundraising campaign for Bondi’s celebrated hero, Ahmed El Ahmed, recently brought him the exciting news in person at the hospital: he is now a multi-millionaire.
Ahmed gained international acclaim after courageously apprehending and disarming a gunman at Bondi without any weapons himself. Since that heroic day, he has been recovering in the hospital from several gunshot wounds he received during the confrontation.
Zachery Dereniowski, a co-organizer of the fundraiser who shares motivational content on Instagram as @mdmotivator, shared a heartfelt video of the moment he handed Ahmed a cheque exceeding $2.5 million while Ahmed lay in his hospital bed.
“Do I deserve it?” Ahmed asked, overwhelmed by the support.
In a touching moment, Dereniowski inquired what Ahmed would like to say to those who contributed to his cause.
“To stand with each other, all human beings and forget everything bad (in the past) and keep going to save lives,” he said.
He said he had acted from the heart when he took on the gunman, having seen people enjoying a wonderful day together and that being disrupted.
“This country, best country in the world … but we’re not going to stand back and watch,” he said.
“God protect Australia.”