Ahmed al-Ahmed, heroic figure of the Bondi Beach mass shooting, was forced to interrupt his recovery plans and public appearances in the United States on Saturday after suffering a new bout of pain, Sky News reported.
Ahmed had arrived in New York earlier in the week to pursue the next stage of what he described as his "treatment journey." During his stay, he had appeared on multiple US TV shows, including an interview on CNN alongside the father-in-law of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, one of the shooting victims.
He'd also been honored at the Colel Chabad Gala on Wednesday night, where Jewish billionaire Bill Ackman had presented him with a gold menorah inscribed with the words “Light will win”.
But on Saturday, Ahmed reported that his health declined again, posting on Instagram about a sudden swelling in his hand accompanied by severe pain forcing him to miss several scheduled meetings.
"Despite that, they came with such kindness and respect to check on me in my modest hotel room, just to make sure I was okay," Ahmed added in his post. A video showed Ahmed lying in a hotel bed, surrounded by visitors.
Ahmed's heroic actions during Bondi Beach Hanukkah shooting
Ahmed was filmed disarming one of the shooters during the Bondi Beach Hanukkah attack, where two shooters killed 15 people and injured dozens during a Hanukkah event in Sydney, Australia. The video became viral within hours of the attack
The 43-year-old is a Syrian-born shop-owner from Sydney, who was unarmed at the moment of the attack and still managed to disarm one of the terrorists.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.