Sydney
At least 12 people were killed and several others injured on Sunday when two gunmen opened fire at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney. Australian media reported that 29 people were wounded, including a child and two police officers, prompting a massive emergency response with the injured rushed to hospitals.
The shooting took place on the first night of the eight-day Hanukkah festival. According to the reports , the gunmen began firing around 6:30 pm (local time) as hundreds of people had gathered for the seaside event.
Police shot dead one of the attackers, while the second was arrested and remains in critical condition. Authorities said their operation was ongoing, with several suspicious items found in the area being examined by specialist units.
Dramatic footage captured by a bystander showed a person apparently tackling and disarming one of the gunmen before turning the weapon against him. The attack has sparked widespread shock and heightened security across the city.
An eyewitness said, “We heard the shots. It was shocking, it felt like 10 minutes of just bang, bang, bang. It seemed like a powerful weapon,” Camilo Diaz, a 25-year-old student from Chile, told reporters. Another witness told that he saw “two shooters in black” at the scene. “There was a shooting, two shooters in black with semi-automatic rifles,” Timothy Brant-Coles told AFP from the Sydney tourist hotspot.
1. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared the shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach a ‘terrorist’ attack targeting a Jewish community event. New South Wales police say at least a dozen people were killed by two gunmen at the scene.
2. New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon declared the attack a “terrorist incident,” stating, “As a result of the circumstances of the incident tonight at 9:36 pm, I declared this to be a terrorist incident.”
3. “The Albanese government was warned so many times but failed to take adequate actions to protect the Jewish community,” the head of Australia’s Jewish Association Robert Gregory said.
4. A major Australian Muslim organisation also condemned the incident.
