'Very brave person': Trump praises Bondi Beach hero Ahmed al-Ahmed

US President Donald Trump has praised a bystander, who overpowered one of the gunmen during a deadly shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, saying that the intervention helped save lives.

Trump lauded Ahmed al-Ahmed, said to be of Syrian origin, as “a very, very brave person, who went and attacked frontally one of the shooters and saved a lot of lives."

He said the man was “right now in the hospital pretty seriously wounded” and expressed “great respect” for his actions.

Although Trump did not name him, local media have identified the bystander as Ahmed al-Ahmed, 43. Footage circulating on social media shows him running through a parking area toward an armed suspect during the attack at a Jewish festival.

The video appears to show al-Ahmed tackling the gunman from behind, seizing the rifle and briefly turning it back toward him.

The attack at Bondi Beach left at least 15 people dead.