I just wanted to save innocent people, says Bondi Beach hero Ahmed Al Ahmed

Global hero Ahmed Al Ahmed, who disarmed a gunman during the Bondi Beach shooting in Australia, said he wanted to stop the attacker from killing innocent people.

"My target was just to take the gun from him and to stop him from killing innocent people," Ahmed, who was born in Syria, said in an interview with CBS News.

On the evening of December 14, a man and his son opened fire on the beach in Sydney, killing 15 people and injuring 42 others. Police described the incident as a "terrorist attack."

Ahmed made headlines and won hearts around the world for his bravery when he pounced on one of the two shooters on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia's largest city and New South Wales' capital.

Ahmed said he "didn't worry about anything" except for the lives he could potentially save.

"I know I saved lots, but I feel sorry for the loss," he said.

Ahmad explained that to disarm the gunman, he “jumped” on his back and hit him, struggling to remove the weapon.

“I hold (held) him with my right hand and start saying a word, you know, like to warn him, drop your gun, stop doing what you're doing, and it all comes in fast," he said.

“And emotionally, I'm doing something, which is, I feel something, a power in my body, my brain ... I don't want to see people killed in front of me, I don't want to hear his gun, I don't want to see people screaming and begging, asking for help, and that's my soul asking me to do that,” he recalled.

"Everything in my heart, in my brain, everything, it worked just to manage to save the people's lives," Ahmad said.

One of the two shooters was killed, while the other was critically injured.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared Syrian-born Ahmed “the best of our country.”

Ahmed, who moved to Australia in 2006 and is the father of two daughters, was shot four to five times in his left shoulder and is receiving treatment at Sydney's St George Hospital.