Bondi Beach hero charged with assaulting father

SYDNEY: A Sydney man credited with saving dozens of lives during last year’s deadly mass shooting on Bondi Beach has been charged with assaulting his father, local media and police said on Thursday.

Ahmed al Ahmed shot to fame in December when he wrested a gun from one of the attackers during Australia’s deadliest attack in decades.

Local media including national broadcaster ABC said Ahmed, 44, had been charged after allegedly assaulting his father.

Asked to confirm the reporting, New South Wales police said: “On Sunday 15 March 2026 police received a report of an alleged assault at a home in Bankstown on Monday 9 March 2026.” They added that a 44-year-old man had then been charged this week with assault and stalking. He will face court on June 29, police said.

Australian police as a rule do not identify individuals charged with crimes to the media. Ahmed told the ABC that the alleged incident was “fake information… it’s not true at all”.

“I don’t have any information at all,” he was quoted as saying. Ahmed was widely hailed as a hero for his actions during the shooting, in which 15 people were killed and dozens wounded in what authorities have described as an antisemitic terrorist attack.

He met Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and a fundraiser set up for him raised over $1 million. He told the ABC that he was focusing on his health and planned to undergo further operations on his arm to address the injuries sustained in the attack.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2026