Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has vowed to strengthen gun laws after a shooting targeting the country’s Jewish community at a Hanukkah event on Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
Fifteen people including a 10-year-old girl were killed in the attack, which Albanese described as an “act of antisemitism… [and] terrorism”.
Police are alleging that the two gunmen were a father and son; Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police, while his son Naveed, 24, is in hospital. His condition is unknown.
The prime minister said that the evidence points towards the attack being inspired by Islamic State (IS), after two flags were found in a car that belonged to the alleged perpetrators.
Mass shootings in Australia are very rare. This attack is the country’s deadliest incident since 1996, when a gunman killed 35 people during the Port Arthur massacre.
Police have declared the shooting a terrorist attack.
Here is what we know so far.
How did it unfold?
On Sunday 14 December, at 18:47 (07:47 GMT), police received reports of gunfire at a park in Bondi Beach.
Verified videos captured people fleeing the beach, screaming and running as a gunshots rang out.
Some footage appears to show two gunmen firing from a small bridge near a car park on Campbell Parade, on the northern end of Bondi Beach. They are firing down towards an area of parkland where the Hanukkah event is taking place.
Separate video from a few minutes later shows a bystander – since identified as Ahmed al Ahmed – disarming one of the gunmen. Mr al Ahmed, a fruit shop owner and father-of-two, tackles the gunman, seizes his gun and turns it back on him.
ReutersThe gunman then retreats towards the bridge, from where another attacker is firing.
In the same footage, another man – who appears to be injured – is seen fleeing the scene, as police arrive and begin to fire in the direction of the gunmen.
Another verified video shows several police officers on the same bridge. One appears to be administering CPR to a motionless man as someone shouts: “He’s dead, he’s dead.”
At 18:57, New South Wales (NSW) Police share their first public statement, urging people at the scene to take shelter and others to avoid the area.
At 19:39, police say two people are in custody while at 22:00, NSW Police designate the incident as a terrorist attack on Sydney’s Jewish community.
How many people were killed and injured?
AFP via Getty ImagesA 10-year-old girl was among 15 people killed in the attack, according to NSW Police. Two rabbis and a Holocaust survivor were also killed.
The ages of the victims range from 10 to 87.
The family of British-born Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, told the BBC he was among the dead. He had helped organise the Hanukkah event, Jewish organisation Chabad said.
Rabbi Schlanger’s cousin, Rabbi Zalman Lewis, described him as “vivacious, energetic, full of life and a very warm outgoing person who loved to help people”.
Also among those killed was Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, described as a “popular co-ordinator” of Chabad activities in Sydney.
Alexander Kleytman, a Holocaust survivor, was killed while trying to shield his wife, Chabad says.
Israeli media report that an Israeli citizen was also killed, and French citizen Dan Elkayam has also been identified as a victim of the attack.
A further 42 people were taken to hospital due to their injuries. Australian health authorities say 24 people are being treated in hospitals across Sydney, and three of them are in a critical condition.
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park told ABC News on Monday that four children had been transferred to Sydney Children’s Hospital.
Two police officers were shot and injured during the incident, according to police.
Both officers remain in hospital in a serious but stable condition; police have named one of those officers as Constable Scott Dyson, who had been attached to Eastern Suburbs Police Area Command for 18 months. The second officer has not been identified.
What do we know about the alleged gunmen?
Police have alleged that the attack was carried out by two gunmen: Sajid Akram, 50, and his 24-year-old son, Naveed Akram.
Sajid was a licensed firearms holder, having met the eligibility criteria for a recreational hunting licence.
He was linked to six firearms, all of which were believed to have been used in the attack, NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said.
The father arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa, Home Minister Tony Burke said. The visa was transferred in 2001 to a partner visa and later resident return visas.
Naveed Akram is an Australian-born citizen. Albanese said he had first come to the attention of authorities in October 2019.
He had been “examined on the basis of being associated with others”, Albanese said, “and the assessment was made that there was no indication of any ongoing threat or threat of him engaging in violence”.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has reported that the 24-year-old was examined over his close ties to a Sydney-based IS cell.
NSW Police say that the father and son also travelled to the Philippines in the month prior to the shooting, and that investigation is ongoing as to the purpose of that trip.
Sajid and Naveed arrived in the Philippines on 1 November and left on 28 November, the country’s immigration bureau has confirmed to the BBC.
It says that Sajid travelled using an Indian passport, while his son used Australian identification.
Citing security sources, the ABC has said that the pair travelled to the island nation to receive “military-style training”, but officials have not been able to confirm those reports.
How have political leaders responded?
Albanese has said that he will put tougher new gun laws on the agenda for a national cabinet meeting.
These will include proposals to limit the number of guns that can be used or licensed by individuals, and introducing regular reviews of licences.
Australia has some of the world’s most stringent gun laws. Permits and licenses are required to own guns while all people who own firearms also have to be registered.
In other reaction:
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a phone call with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong to “discuss the antisemitic terrorist attack”
- Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the shooting a “very cruel attack on Jews”
- King Charles III – who is head of state in the Commonwealth nation – said he was “appalled and saddened by the most dreadful antisemitic terrorist attack”
- NSW Premier Chris Minns asked people to continue laying flowers at a memorial site at the rear of the Bondi pavilion. He also welcomed the “record numbers” of people and massive lines at blood donation services across the state.
What is Hanukkah?
Hanukkah, or Chanukah in Hebrew, is often referred to as the Jewish festival of lights.
It reminds Jewish people of when they won a battle against Greeks to practise their religion freely, more than 2,000 years ago.
The date changes but it always falls in November or December.
An event to mark the first day of the celebration was taking place on Bondi Beach at the time of the shooting.
A digital flyer for the event, named Chanuka by the Sea 2025, shows it was scheduled to take place near the beach’s children’s playground from 17:00.
Organised by Chabad, the event was set to feature live entertainment and activities “for all ages”. Around 1,000 people were said to be in attendance.
15 dead in shooting at Bondi Beach Hanukkah event, including children
Officials said the shooting was “designed to target” the Jewish community. An event to mark the first day of Hanukkah was taking place at the iconic beach in Sydney.
What we know
- At least 15 people were killed, police said, with 27 other people still hospitalized, including a dozen who are in critical condition, after a shooting at Australia’s famous Bondi Beach in Sydney.
- Police identified the two suspects as a father and son, ages 50 and 24. Officers fatally shot the 50-year-old at the scene, while the 24-year-old “suffered critical injuries” and was hospitalized. Officials said the son may face criminal charges.
- Officials declared the shooting a terrorist event and said it was “designed to target” Jewish people. An event to mark the first day of Hanukkah was taking place at Bondi Beach, one of Australia’s most popular tourist sites.
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government would consider further tightening Australia’s already strict gun laws in light of the attack, the country’s deadliest shooting since 1996.
Albanese urges Australians to light a candle this evening
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged Australians to light a candle at 6:47 p.m. local time (2:47 a.m. ET) and put it in their windows in solidarity with those killed and with the festival of Hanukkah.
“I would urge and join with others who have urged Australians across the country to light a candle,” he told reporters, “to show that light will indeed defeat darkness.”
Officials will look at ‘tightening’ gun laws, Australian PM says
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said officials will consider further tightening the country’s already strict gun laws after the Bondi Beach attack, which he called an “antisemitic terrorism incident” and “an unprecedented scale of attack on the Australian way of life.”
“One of the suggestions that will be on the agenda today is to have an examination of our gun laws to make sure that if there is any tightening or changes which are required, that we put in place mechanisms,” he said before a meeting in Sydney of the national cabinet.
The Australian government previously enacted a wave of gun laws after a 1996 shooting in Port Arthur, a town on the Australian island of Tasmania, that left 35 people dead and dozens more injured. Among them was an enormous gun buyback scheme.
Since the Port Arthur shooting it has been very difficult to buy weapons in Australia, which is one reason the country has been so shocked by the attack at Bondi Beach.
27 patients still hospitalized, health authorities say
At least 27 patients are still receiving care in several hospitals around Sydney, a New South Wales Health spokesperson said in a statement.
Twelve of them are in critical condition, the spokesperson said.
An earlier statement from NSW Police had said at least 40 people were injured.
Younger suspect was previously investigated for six months, Albanese says
The younger suspect was an Australian-born citizen who first came to the attention of the Australian intelligence agency in October 2019, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters.
“He was examined on the basis of being associated with others,” he said. However, “an assessment was made that there was no indication of any ongoing threat or threat of him engaging in violence,” he added.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the older suspect, the father, arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa and transferred to a partner visa three years later. Since then the father has been on a resident return visa.
Neither Albanese nor Burke elaborated on the son’s associations. Albanese said the investigation at the time went on for six months.
Man describes witnessing Bondi Beach shooting
Fin Green was visiting Australia from the U.K. when he witnessed the Bondi Beach shooting from his apartment window.
Green said he was catching up with his family on a video call when he suddenly heard “what sounded like fireworks.”
“I just heard, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang,” Green added.
The scene of the shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney. David Gray / AFP via Getty Images
He opened his window and saw “a guy all in black” standing by a car, “just letting off shots.”
Green said he immediately knew that the man outside his window was a shooter.
“It definitely wasn’t a police officer,” Green said. “He was shooting at civilians who were just casually walking.”
“I was seeing people getting shot, going down,” Green added, saying he was “going into shock” and “didn’t know what to do” because he feared for his life.
Green said he took a video from his window once the shooter had moved out of the area. The video shows three people crouching behind a car as the sound of a gunshot and sirens are heard in the background.
While he was still on the phone with his family, Green turned his lights off and put the blinds down. He continued to hear gunshots as he took cover.
“Every time you hear a gunshot, it’s the sound of, you know, another person that could be dead,” Green said.
