Bondi Beach shooters kill 15 in antisemitic attack on Hanukkah event
At least 15 people have been killed in a mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney's Bondi Beach, with one of the gunmen also dead, Australian authorities confirmed.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese denounced the attack as "an act of pure evil" and "evil antisemitism" that targeted the Jewish community on the first night of Hanukkah.
Two gunmen opened fire on around 1,000 people attending a Chabad-organised event called "Chanukah by the Sea" at the famous beach on Sunday evening. One shooter, aged 50, was killed by police at the scene.
A second suspect, 24, is in critical condition in hospital. The two were later identified as a father and son.
At least 40 people were injured, including two police officers who were shot while responding to the attack.
Among the victims killed are a 12-year-old girl, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who helped organise the event, Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, and French citizen Dan Elkayam.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon declared the shooting a terrorist incident and said the attack was "designed to target" the Jewish community. Police confirmed the two suspects were father and son.
Video footage verified by news outlets showed a bystander tackling one of the gunmen and wrestling his weapon away. New South Wales Premier Chris Minns praised fruit shop owner Ahmed al-Ahmed, 43, as a "genuine hero." Al-Ahmed was shot twice during the struggle and underwent surgery.
Police found improvised explosive devices in a vehicle linked to one of the attackers and later removed them. Authorities are investigating whether a third person was involved.
World leaders condemned the attack. French President Emmanuel Macron called it "an antisemitic terrorist attack." Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the country's "hearts go out to our Jewish sisters and brothers in Sydney."
Witnesses described scenes of panic as hundreds of people fled along the beach and into nearby streets.
The attack is the deadliest mass shooting in Australia since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania, which killed 35 people and led to sweeping gun control reforms.
Australia has experienced a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents since October 2023, with the Executive Council of Australian Jewry documenting 1,654 anti-Jewish incidents between October 2024 and September this year.