Sydney: At least 12 people were killed after two gunmen opened more than 50 rounds of fire using automatic weapons at Sydney's Bondi beach on Sunday. The
gunmen reportedly targeted people celebrating Jewish festival 'Hanukkah' who had gathered for an event at the beach called 'Chanukah by the Sea'. According to reports, one of the two shooters was neutralised while the other is critically injured. One of the gunman has been identified as Naveed Akram. Several improvised explosive devices have also been recovered from a car on Campbell Parade at Bondi Beach, informed NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon.
Sydney Bondi Beach Targeted Shooting | What We Know So Far
- Two gunmen shot at least 12 people dead on Sunday at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, police said. One gunman was fatally shot by police and the second arrested.
- The suspect was in critical condition, authorities said. A massive emergency response was underway, with injured people loaded into ambulances.
- Eleven people were confirmed wounded, according to a statement by police in New South Wales state, where Sydney is located. Two of those hurt were police officers.
- Australian authorities haven't confirmed what the target of the mass shooting was. Hundreds had gathered for an event at Bondi Beach called Chanukah by the Sea, which was celebrating the start of the Hanukkah Jewish festival.
- Dramatic footage apparently filmed by a member of the public and broadcast on Australian television channels showed someone appearing to tackle and disarm one of the gunmen, before pointing the man’s weapon at him.
- Lachlan Moran, 32, from Melbourne, was waiting for his family nearby when he heard shots, he told The Associated Press. He dropped the beer he was carrying for his brother and ran.
- “You heard a few pops, and I freaked out and ran away... I started sprinting. I just had that intuition. I sprinted as quickly as I could," Moran said. He said he heard shooting off and on for about five minutes.
- “Everyone just dropped all their possessions and everything and were running and people were crying and it was just horrible," Moran said.
- Police said their operation was “ongoing" and that a “number of suspicious items located in the vicinity” were being examined by specialist officers. Emergency services were called to Campbell Parade about 6.45 p.m. responding to reports of shots being fired.
- Local news outlets spoke to distressed and bloody bystanders who witnessed the horror. New South Wales Premier Chris Minns described the reports and images coming from the scene as “deeply distressing."
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement that his thoughts were with all those affected. “The scenes in Bondi are shocking and distressing,” he said. “Police and emergency responders are on the ground working to save lives.”
Sydney Shooting Declared Terrorist Incident
The Sydney’s Bondi Beach incident has been declared as a terrorist incident by New South Wales Police Commissioner May Lanyon at a press conference on Sunday. The commissioner urged for a calm in the community adding a significant investigation will be followed up in the case.
Sydney Attack One Of The Biggest Mass Shootings in Australia After 1996
Though mass shooting incidents are rare in Australia, the Sunday attack in Sydney is being seen as one of the major attacks.
Nearly 3-decades ago, a 1996 massacre in the Tasmanian town of Port Arthur, where a lone gunman killed 35 people, prompted the government to drastically tighten gun laws and made it much more difficult for Australians to acquire firearms.
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Significant mass shootings this century included two murder-suicides with death tolls of five people in 2014, and seven in 2018, in which gunmen killed their own families and themselves.
In 2022, two police officers were shot and killed by Christian extremists at a rural property in Queensland state. The three shooters in that incident, conspiracy theorists who hated the police, were also shot and killed by officers after a six-hour siege in the region of Wieambilla, along with one of their neighbours.
PM Modi Condemns Sydney Bondi Beach Shooting
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday condemned the mass shooting in Sydney when two attackers opened fire on hundreds of people, reportedly belonging to the jewish community who were celebrating their annual festival 'Hanukkah' at the Bondi Beach.
"Strongly condemn the ghastly terrorist attack carried out today at Bondi Beach, Australia, targeting people celebrating the first day of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. On behalf of the people of India, I extend my sincere condolences to the families who lost their loved ones. We stand in solidarity with the people of Australia in this hour of grief. India has zero tolerance towards terrorism and supports the fight against all forms and manifestations of terrorism," PM Modi wrote on X.
With inputs from AP
