A man credited with saving lives for wrestling a gun from one of the alleged attackers during a mass shooting at Australia`s Bondi Beach received a cheque for more than USD 2.5 million on Friday, after tens of thousands of people contributed to a donation website, writes Reuters.

Ahmed al Ahmed hid behind parked cars before charging at one of the gunmen from behind, seizing his weapon and knocking him to the ground. Ahmed suffered gunshot wounds after apparently being fired on by a second perpetrator and remains in hospital after undergoing surgery. Ahmed, a Muslim father-of-two, was presented with an oversized cheque at his St. George hospital bed by Zachery Dereniowski, a social media influencer and co-organiser of the GoFundMe page, videos posted online showed.

More than 43,000 people worldwide contributed to the fundraising, including billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman who gave USD 99,999 and shared the fundraiser on his X account. Australia`s prime minister and the state premier have visited Ahmed in hospital to praise his bravery. When handed the cheque, Ahmed asks, "I deserve it?" to which Dereniowski says "every penny".

Ahmed, 43, left his hometown in Syria`s northwest province of Idlib nearly 20 years ago to seek work in Australia.