Australia is in mourning after police confirmed that a father and son carried out a mass shooting at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing 15 people in what officials have described as the country’s worst gun violence in nearly three decades.
The attack occurred on Sunday evening at a crowded beachside park, where about 1,000 people had gathered for the religious event. Police said the shooting lasted approximately 10 minutes, triggering panic as hundreds fled across the sand and into nearby streets.
At a press conference on Monday, police said the alleged gunmen were a 50-year-old father and his 24-year-old son. The father was shot dead at the scene, bringing the total death toll to 16, while the son remains in critical condition in hospital.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and other local media identified the suspects as Sajid Akram and his son, Naveed Akram. Police did not officially release their names.
Authorities have classified the incident as a targeted antisemitic attack. Victims ranged in age from 10 to 87 years old.
Forty people remain hospitalized, including two police officers who are in serious but stable condition, according to police.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the father arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa and had held a firearms license since 2015. Police revealed he owned six licensed weapons. His son is an Australian-born citizen.
While investigators did not specify the exact firearms used, videos from the scene showed the attackers firing what appeared to be a bolt-action rifle and a shotgun.
Amid the chaos, a bystander who tackled and disarmed one of the attackers has been widely praised for preventing further bloodshed. Seven News Australia identified the man as Ahmed al Ahmed, a 43-year-old fruit shop owner, citing a relative. He was reportedly shot twice during the incident and has since undergone surgery.
A fundraising campaign launched to support him had raised more than A$350,000 (about US$233,000) by Monday afternoon.
Investigations into the motive and planning of the attack are ongoing as the nation grapples with the scale and brutality of the violence.
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