Hanukkah shooting at Australia’s Bondi Beach that killed at least 11 saw terrorist attack
At least 11 people were killed and more than two injured in a shooting by two residents at a holiday party on Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday.
Australian police have claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack and are working to determine whether others were involved.
One suspect in the shooting was dead and the other in critical condition, authorities said. A police officer is also among the dead and another injured, New South Wales Police Commissioner Layon confirmed at a press conference New South Wales Premier Chris Minns.
“No stone will be left unturned,” said Lanyon. “These stories of violence, taking innocent lives, are unacceptable in New South Wales.”
Hundreds gathered at Bondi Beach for an event called Chanukah by the Sea, celebrating the start of the Jewish Hanukkah holiday.
The police said their operation was “ongoing” and that “a number of suspicious objects in the vicinity” were investigated by special officers.
Moramatic footage apparently captured by a member of the public and aired by Australian television channels shows someone appearing to confront one of the bodies, before pointing the man’s weapon at him.
Witnesses said the shooting on the burning beach in the evening lasted for 10 minutes, sending beachcombers sprawling across the sand and onto nearby roads.
Laclan Moran, 32, in Melbourne, was waiting for his family nearby when he heard the shots, he told related media. He dropped the beer he was bringing to his brother and ran.
“He heard a few pops, and I got out and ran away, I started arguing. I just got that. He said he heard a shot and it opened for five minutes.
“Everybody just dropped all their stuff and everything and was running and people were crying and it was just scary,” Moran said.
Emergency services were called to Campbell Parade at around 6.45pm in response to reports of shots fired.
Local news outlets spoke to distraught and bloodied scientists who witnessed the panic. New South Wales Premier Chris Minns described the reports and images from the scene as ‘deeply distressing.’
Prime Minister Anthony Albenese said the threat was a “targeted attack on Jest Australia on the first day of Hanukkah, which is supposed to be a day of joy, which is called for by the tragedy, terrorism that has struck the hearts of our nation.”
Albanise was speaking to reporters with Australian Police Commissioner Nigel Ryan.
“The attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on all Australians,” Albanese said. “What has been revealed today is beyond comprehension and the trauma and loss the families are dealing with this late night.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Jewish people attending the first candlelight vigil of the Hanukkah holiday on the banks were attacked by “terrorists.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he was busy shooting and that the Australian government should be ‘caught by surprise’ after countless warnings.
“These are the results of the antisemitic rampage on the streets of Australia two years ago, with antisemitic and ‘Intifada’ calls received today.”
One of the most famous beaches in the world, it’s packed with locals and tourists alike.
“If we were deliberately targeted in this way, it’s something that none of us might have experienced.” It’s a terrible council thing,” Alex Ryvchin, who is the manager of the Executive Council, added Media Field, added his media adviser.
Riley Stranaghan, who was staying at a hostel in Bondi Beach, was on the beach with a friend when the couple heard gunshots.
“I told him, ‘No, the ones that don’t have fireworks,’ and then everybody started coming down the beach and obviously we did the same thing and started running.
Stranaghan ended up safe in the aliens’ apartment for a few hours.
“I just remember running down the street and seeing children crying, families running,” she said. “It was bad.”
Prime Minister Park Carney responded to the shooting at X.
“Shocked by the antisemitic attack that claimed the lives of 12 people at a Hanukkah party in Bondi Beach today in Australia,” Carney wrote.
“Canada stands with the Australian people and Jewish people everywhere in grief, and in a determination not to bow to vigilance, violence, hatred and intimidation.”
Riley Stranaghan, who lived in Sydney, Australia, said he was with a friend on Bondi Beach when they heard loud noises and started rushing towards them with fireworks. Dozens of people are dead and many more injured after Sunday’s shooting at an event marking the start of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
Busstander facing Guckman hailed as a hero
The footage of BROSTher’s actions quickly spread on social media as people praised the man for his bravery, saying his actions saved many lives. His identity is not immediately known.
“Australia Hero (Random Elements) guns attack the attacker and cover him. Some people are brave and other people, whatever it is,” said one person.
Minutes, the Premier of New South Wales State, said it was “the most incredible place I have ever seen.”
“A man who went to a suspect who was shooting in the community and was single to stop him, put his life at risk to save many other people.”
“That man is a true hero, and I have no doubt that many, many people are alive tonight because of his bravery.”
Albanese praised the actions of Australia who ran into danger to help others. “
“These Australians are heroes and their bravery has saved lives,” he told the Canberra News Conference.
Mass shooting deaths in Australia are very rare. The massacre in the Tasmanian town of Port Arthur, where a gunman killed 35 people, prompted the government to further tighten gun laws and make it more difficult for Australians to obtain firearms.
Significant mass shootings of this century include two killings of five people in 2014, and seven in 2018, where gunmen killed their families and themselves.
In 2022, two police officers were shot dead by Christian extremists in rural Queensland State. Three shooters in that incident, a conspiracy of teachers who hate the police, were shot dead by officials after a six-hour siege in Wiambilla district, along with one of their neighbors.
