At least 15 people were killed Sunday and dozens more were injured after two gunmen opened fire at a crowd celebrating the first day of the Hanukkah holiday on Bondi Beach in Sydney. The gunmen were father and son, police said, and the older man died during the attack.
At least 15 people were killed Sunday and dozens more were injured after two gunmen opened fire at a crowd celebrating the first day of the Hanukkah holiday on Bondi Beach in Sydney. The gunmen were father and son, police said, and the older man died during the attack.
On Monday morning in Australia, officials said 40 people were hospitalized from injuries. Two police officers were also hurt in the attack, officials said. Police said the second shooter had also been wounded.
Other WRAL Top Stories
Police and the country’s leaders called the shootings a targeted attack on Jewish Australians. Law enforcement officials called the shooting a terrorist attack.
Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said police had found and disabled two improvised explosives devices in a nearby vehicle linked to the suspect who was killed. The suspects’ names have not been released.
One witness video shows dozens of people running out of the water and away from the beach as gunshots rang out. Another, verified by The New York Times, shows a bystander — who local authorities called a hero — tackling and disarming one of the gunmen.
Jewish people have increasingly been targeted since the Hamas-led attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. In Britain, a man attacked a synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for Jews. And American Jews have faced a year of violence.
Here is what we know so far about the Australia shooting:
The mass shooting happened around 6:45 p.m. Sunday at Bondi Beach, one of Sydney’s most popular tourist destinations that stretches over 3,000 feet long and draws hundreds of thousands of people each year.
An event hosted by the Chabad organization was taking place at the beach to celebrate the first day of the Jewish holiday Hanukkah when the gunmen opened fire.
“An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia said in a televised address.
