Sydney, 15 December (H.S.): Fifteen people, including a 10-year-old girl, have been killed and about 40 others injured after two gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, in what authorities have branded a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community.
The victims range in age from 10 to 87, making this Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in nearly three decades.
New South Wales Police say the attackers were a 50-year-old father and his 24-year-old son, who fired repeatedly from a small bridge towards a park and beach area where more than 1,000 people had gathered for the first night of Hanukkah.
The elder gunman, a licensed firearms holder with six registered weapons, was shot dead at the scene, while his son remains in hospital in a critical condition.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the shooting as “an act of pure evil” and an antisemitic act of terrorism, vowing to devote every necessary resource to the investigation and to “stamp out” antisemitism in Australian society.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said the attack was a deliberate assault on Sydney’s Jewish community and confirmed that 328 officers have been deployed to bolster security at Jewish sites across the city.
Police say two active improvised explosive devices were located at the scene and rendered safe, while raids have been carried out at properties linked to the suspects in the western Sydney suburbs of Campsie and Bonnyrigg.
Forensic teams remain at the beach and surrounding streets, which are still heavily cordoned off as investigators reconstruct the sequence of events.
Amid national shock, Lifeblood Australia has issued urgent appeals for O negative blood, moving supplies from other states to meet demand for the dozens of wounded still being treated in Sydney hospitals.
Across Australia and in major European cities, vigils and Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremonies have been held in solidarity with the victims, as Jewish community leaders warn that rising antisemitism can no longer be dismissed or ignored.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
