Bondi Beach shooting hero's assault charges dropped by police

What the report says

Police in Sydney have dropped assault-related charges against Ahmed al Ahmed, the man widely described as a hero for disarming one of the gunmen in the Bondi Beach attack last year, BBC World News reported. The charges, filed in June, stemmed from an alleged domestic dispute with his father at a home in southwest Sydney and included common assault, stalking and intimidation. Ahmed had denied the allegations.

According to the BBC, prosecutors withdrew the case on Wednesday after an agreement that Ahmed would comply with an apprehended domestic violence order for 12 months. The order restricts his contact with his father and was accepted without admissions, his lawyer said in court. Outside the Sydney court, Ahmed said he was relieved by the outcome and hoped for peace.

The case comes against the backdrop of Ahmed’s public profile after footage showed him wrestling a gun away from one of the attackers during the December shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach. That attack killed 15 people and was later declared a terrorist incident targeting the Jewish community. In the aftermath, a fundraiser raised more than AU$2.5m for Ahmed, and Australia’s prime minister visited him in hospital. The BBC also noted that two of Ahmed’s brothers face a separate matter involving allegations they threatened him and sought part of those donations.