Ahmed Al Ahmed, the hero who tackled and disarmed one of the two gunmen who opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration at Australia’s Bondi Beach on December 14, received a check last Friday for more than $1.65 million while recovering from his wounds in a Sydney hospital. More than 43,000 people from around the world contributed to a GoFundMe campaign that collected over $2.5 million in funny little Australian dollars.

Yes, this is one of those “light in the darkness” Nice Time stories for which we wish there hadn’t been any reason at all. Sixteen people were killed in the attack, and dozens wounded, including Al Ahmed, who was shot multiple times in his left arm. Australia has universal healthcare, but the donations will help him as he recovers from his injuries.

Here’s Canadian social media influencer person Zachery Dereniowski, whom we hadn’t heard of either but who apparently encourages people to be decent to each other, giving the oversized check, or cheque, to Al Ahmed last week.



Al Ahmed has also been visited in the hospital by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and by Chris Minns, premier of New South Wales state, which is always fun to abbreviate because “NSW” looks like it might be something naughty.

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