'I know I saved lots, but I feel sorry for the lost': Bondi hero speaks out after saving lives in terror attack
Ahmed al-Ahmed, who was injured himself, recalled the moment he jumped on the gunman's back to try stop him
The hero bystander who tackled one of the Bondi Beach gunmen has said he "feels sorry for the lost" two weeks on after the terror attack.
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Ahmed al-Ahmed, 43, saved multiple lives after he heroically tackled one of the gunmen who opened fire on crowds during a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach on December 14.
Fifteen people were killed and dozens were injured when a crowd of more than 1,000 people had gathered on Bondi's Archer Park.
Mr Ahmed was shot four times after intervening in the attack but said he "just wanted to save more lives."
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One alleged gunman, Naveed Akram, faces 59 charges, while his father, Sajid, was shot dead by police at the scene.
In an interview with CBS airing on Monday, Mr Ahmed said: "My target was just to take the gun from him, and to stop him from killing a human being’s life and not killing innocent people.
"I know I saved lots, but I feel sorry for the lost."
Describing the moment he leapt onto the gunman’s back to wrestle the firearm away, he added: "I jumped on his back, hit him.
"I hold him with my right hand and start saying a word, you know, like to warn him, drop your gun, stop doing what you’re doing, and it’s come all in fast.
"And emotionally, I’m doing something, which is I feel something, a power in my body, my brain.
"I don't want to see people killed in front of me, I don’t want to hear his gun, I don't want to see people screaming and begging, asking for help, and that’s my soul asking me to do that."
Mr Ahmed’s parents told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation he had been shot four to five times in the shoulder.
More than 40,000 people have since raised 2.5 million Australian dollars (£1.2 million) in a fundraiser for Mr Al Ahmed.
A GoFundMe campaign also raised 2.5 million (£1.2 million), with donations from comedian Amy Schumer and billionaire Bill Ackman.
Before Christmas, Australia announced it would establish an award for those like Mr Ahmed who confronted "the worst of evil" during the attack.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: "This Christmas is a different one because of the anti-terror and the terrorist attack motivated by Isis and antisemitism."