Bravery in the face of terror...

One gunman killed, another in hospital after bloodbath at Jewish event

- BY ANDY LINES Chief Reporter and ZAHRA KHALIQ

A HERO shopkeeper tackled an armed terrorist in the middle of a sickening attack on a Jewish beach festival - a striking act of bravery on a day of horror.

Last night, police in Sydney said 15 people were killed in the attack on the city's Bondi Beach, while more than 40 were in hospital.

The youngest victim was a 10-year-old girl, while the oldest was 87.

Australian authorities confirmed the two gunmen were a father and son. The father, a 50-year-old, died at the scene, while 24-year-old Naveed Akram, who was shot, is in custody.

Among the injured was Ahmed al Ahmed, a fruit shop owner who wrestled with one of the gunmen as he opened fire.

A relative of Mr Ahmed, 43, said he had no experience with guns, adding: “He's a hero, 100%.”

Chris Mimms, the Premier of New South Wales, said: “That man is a genuine hero and I've got no doubt that there are many, many people alive tonight as a result of his bravery.

“It's the most unbelievable scene I have ever seen.

“A man walking up to a gunman who had fired on the community and single-handedly disarming him, putting his own life at risk to save the lives of other people.”

Mr Ahmed, from the Sutherland area of Sydney, suffered gunshot wounds to his arm and hand.

A British rabbi and a Holocaust survivor were among those killed at the event, held to mark the first night of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.

Rabbi Eli Schlanger was a father-of-five who whose wife Chayala had given birth to a boy just two months ago. He had posted on social media on Thursday saying how much he was looking forward to the event.

MASSACRE

His great-uncle, the late Reverend Leslie Olsberg, served as rabbi at Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester, where two congregants were murdered in a terror attack during Yom Kippur in October.