At least 12 people were killed and almost 30 wounded when gunmen fired on a Jewish holiday event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday in what Australian police and officials described as a terrorist attack.
One suspected gunman was killed and another was in a critical condition, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon told a press conference. At least 29 people injured, including two police officers, were taken to hospital, he said.
Police were investigating whether a third gunman was involved in the shooting, and a bomb-disposal unit was working on several suspected improvised explosive devices, Lanyon said.
Mike Burgess, a top Australian intelligence official, said one of the suspected attackers was known to authorities but had not been deemed an immediate threat.
Mass shootings are rare in Australia, one of the world’s safest countries. Sunday’s attack was the worst such incident in the country since 1996, when a gunman killed 35 people at a tourist site in the southern state of Tasmania.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese convened a meeting of the country’s national security council and condemned the attack, saying the evil that was unleashed was “beyond comprehension”.
“This is a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith,” he said. “At this dark moment for our nation, our police and security agencies are working to determine anyone associated with this outrage.”
Witnesses said the shooting at the famed beach on a hot summer’s evening lasted about 10 minutes, sending hundreds of people scattering along the sand and into nearby streets and parks. Police said around 1,000 people had attended the Hanukkah event alone.
“I was just getting ready to go home, and, like, I was packing my bag, got my flip-flops, was ready to catch my bus, and then I started hearing the shots,” said Bondi Junction resident Marcos Carvalho, 38.
“We all panicked and started running as well. So we left everything behind, like flip-flops, everything. We just ran through the hill,” he said. “I must have heard, I don’t know, maybe, like, 40, 50 shots.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Jewish people who had gone to light the first candle of the Hanukkah holiday on the beach had been attacked by “vile terrorists”.
“These acts of violence and crimes have no place in our society. Those responsible must be held fully accountable and face the full force of the law,” the Australian National Imams Council, the Council of Imams NSW and the Australian Muslim community said in a statement.
President Asif Ali Zardari expressed sorrow over the tragic shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney. “The President conveyed condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to those injured, including police personnel hurt while responding to the incident,” President Secretariat Media Wing said in a press release.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his condolences to the victims of the terrorist attack. In a post on X, he said, “My deepest condolences to the victims of the tragic terrorist attack at Bondi Beach, Sydney. Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We stand in solidarity with the people and government of Australia in this difficult time.”