Bondi Beach shooting updates: 15 killed in Sydney attack at Jewish event

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• Two gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday night, killing 15 people who ranged in age from 10 years old to 87.
• At least 40 people remained hospitalised as of Monday morning, including several people in critical condition, state health officials said.
• The gunmen were a father and son, according to New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon.
• The 50-year-old attacker was killed in a shootout with police, while the 24-year-old remains in hospital.
• Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the shooting was a “targeted attack on Jewish Australians” and that Australia would “never submit to division and hatred”.
• Bystander Ahmed al Ahmed has been hailed a hero after he was identified as the man who tackled and disarmed one of the gunmen in a now-viral video.

State leader Chris Minns has hinted that he would pursue further reforms to Australia’s gun laws.

Still, he remained mum on the details as he spoke to reporters at a news conference.

“I think it’s time that we have a change to the law in relation to the firearms legislation in New South Wales, but I’m not ready to announce it today,” he said.

“We want to make sure that prospective reform and change in New South Wales has a lasting impact. But it’s not the last time I’ll be mentioning it, and you can expect action soon.”

Minns and Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon had faced questions at the news conference about the two shooters’ ability to buy firearms.

Lanyon repeatedly emphasised that the 50-year-old suspect, who was killed at the scene, “met the eligibility criteria for a firearms licence”.

Minns praised Sydney community members for coming out to support the survivors and grieving family members by participating in events like blood drives. “It’s encouraging to see record inquiries and massive lines at blood donation services across New South Wales,” he said.

Officials also announced that the nearby Bondi Beach Public School would remain closed, “due to its proximity to the scene”.

In a Monday news conference, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon alluded to criminal charges being brought against the surviving 24-year-old suspect.

“What’s really important is to say we do have a 24-year-old male in hospital at the moment,” Lanyon said. “Based on his medical condition, it is likely that that person may face criminal charges. I’m very mindful of not prejudicing any prosecution of that person, if they’re put before the court.”

Two suspects, a father-son duo, are believed to have perpetrated the deadly shooting, which killed 15 people.

Lanyon also reiterated, in the wake of the violence, that no one should seek to take justice into their own hands.

“This is a time for calm. Retribution or acts against any part of any community will not be accepted. We will have a significant policing presence. This is a time for a community to come together,” he said.

UN special rapporteur Ben Saul has criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for linking Australia’s recognition of Palestinian statehood to Sunday’s shootings.

“I am disgusted that the Israeli PM links Australia’s principled support for a Palestinian State with yesterday’s terrorist attack in Bondi,” said Saul, who also serves as an international law chair at The University of Sydney.

“Australia has taken extensive measures to prevent anti-semitism.”

The Israeli prime minister criticised Australian policies in both a lengthy address and several social media posts soon after Sunday’s shooting, claiming that Australia’s “call for a Palestinian state” was linked to anti-Semitism.

When asked about Netanyahu’s remarks on Monday morning, Albanese said his focus was on bringing people together.

“This is a moment for national unity,” the Australian prime minister told reporters in Sydney. “This is a moment for Australians to come together. That’s precisely what we’ll be doing.”

Members of the Jewish community arrived at Bondi Beach on Monday morning to mourn the 15 people killed.

In the aftermath of the shooting, some Jewish leaders at the event blamed the government of Prime Minister Albanese for “ a number of missteps on anti-Semitism”.

“ There’s been an immense failure, and an investigation needs to come to grips with how that was allowed to take place,” one speaker said.

Former US President Barack Obama has offered his condolences for the Bondi Beach shooting, which took place on the first day of the Jewish holiday Hanukkah.

“On this first night of Hanukkah, Michelle and I are praying for the families mourning a loved one after the horrific terrorist attack against Jewish people in Australia,” Obama wrote on social media.

“For everyone lighting a candle tonight, may the glow of the menorah brighten your darkest moments.”

He added a Hebrew greeting that wishes celebrants a happy holiday. “Chag Sameach from our family to yours.”

US President Donald Trump also addressed the Jewish community in a quote to Fox News about the incident: “Celebrate proudly – be proud of who you are.”

Yes, but instances are rare.

In Canada, there was a case in 2020 when a father-son duo pursued and killed two Metis hunters, allegedly believing them to be criminals.

The son, Anthony Bilodeau, was sentenced to second-degree murder for pulling the trigger, and the father, Roger Bilodeau, to manslaughter for participating in the two killings.

In the case of the 2002 Washington, DC, sniper shootings, which killed 17 people and injured 10 more, prosecutors alleged that 17-year-old Lee Boyd Malvo had developed a parent-child relationship with his co-defendant, John Allen Muhammad, 41, with whom he lived.

The suspects in the Bondi Beach shooting are a 24-year-old son and a 50-year-old father, according to the Australian government.

Gun control advocacy organisations in the US have offered condolences to the victims of Australia’s Bondi Beach shooting, as the North American country reels from its own mass shooting this weekend.

“Our hearts are with the victims, their loved ones, and the Jewish community – in Australia and worldwide – as they grapple with this horrific act of hate-fueled mass gun violence,” the group Everytown for Gun Safety wrote on social media.

By Everytown’s estimates, the US has a rate of gun violence that is 26 times higher than that of other high-income countries.

Just this weekend, a shooting at the prestigious Ivy League school Brown University in the US left two people dead and nine others wounded. The nonprofit Gun Violence Archive estimates 391 mass shootings, with four or more victims, have been reported in the US so far this year.

That high rate of gun violence had some advocates reflecting on Australia’s efforts to restrict gun ownership as a model to emulate.

“10 people have been killed after an antisemitic shooting at Australia’s Bondi Beach in Sydney. It’s Australia’s deadliest mass shooting since 1996, when the Port Arthur attack led to major gun reform,” said Kris Brown, the president of the US group Brady, which seeks to end gun violence.

“Will America watch again while Australia acts and we do nothing?”

Mark Kenny, a professor of Australian studies at the Australian National University, praised Prime Minister Albanese’s message of unity in the wake of the Bondi Beach shooting.

The government, he explained, has attempted to discourage people from reacting with rage or violence.

“Particularly in some of the areas of Sydney where there are large Islamic populations, some people may seek to go into those areas and simply seek to exact retribution for what is perceived to be an attack on the Jewish community,” Kenny explained.

“I think, if that were to happen, that would have very significant implications, not just because it could almost certainly involve attacking innocent people, but it may have major implications for retribution in the other direction.  Things could easily get out of hand.”

Lifeblood, the blood donation service for the Australian Red Cross, says that it has transferred blood between states to help respond to the Sydney shooting.

“In particular, we need O type donors to donate now,” the Red Cross said in a post on social media, referring to the blood type which can be used quickly in emergencies.

The state health service, NSW Health, has given an update on the condition of people being treated in Sydney hospitals as of 8am local time (21:00 GMT) on Monday morning, according to the ABC.

Here’s what we know:

• Forty-two people were taken to several hospitals across Sydney, including Prince of Wales Hospital, St Vincent’s Hospital and Liverpool Hospital.
• Sadly, one patient has died after being taken to the Sydney Children’s Hospital, and one has died after being taken to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
• At the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, which specialises in trauma care, there are three patients in a critical but stable condition, and one who is in a critical condition.
• At the Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick, one patient is in a critical condition and two patients are in a stable condition.
• There are also patients in a critical condition at Sydney Eye Hospital, St George Hospital, Royal North Shore Hospital and St Vincent’s Hospital.

Countries from New Zealand to Iran have denounced the mass shooting in Sydney, Australia.

Read our roundup of world reactions here.

Danielle Robertson, reporting from Bondi Beach, said that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is visiting the scene of the attack, escorted by the police and authorities.

“What was once a busily bustling public space is now in lockdown as an investigation spanning multiple agencies takes place,” she said.

She said the authorities revealed that the 50-year-old attacker had a firearm licence and access to at least six firearms.

“People here are saddened, but that is slowly turning into anger as they are now questioning how these firearms were obtained and ultimately used,” our correspondent said.

The advocacy group has said that it is “devastated and angered by the mass shooting aimed at a Jewish community Chanukah celebration at Bondi Beach”.

“We send our love, care and solidarity to all of those who were killed and injured and all who are affected by this violence.”

The group added that the only way to counter violence is “by coming together at every opportunity: everyone, here and elsewhere around the world, must be able to live free from harm and fear”.

The group also sent “love to the Jewish community” and called “for a collective commitment to rejecting violence and fostering a society and a world grounded in dignity, safety, and care for one another”.