Australia has been plunged into national mourning following the islamic terrorist attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney, which claimed the lives of 15 people, including a girl just 10 years old. A total of 38 injured people remain hospitalized, according to New South Wales Police. The victims’ ages range from 10 to 87.
The attack occurred on Sunday, as hundreds of people had gathered to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah, leading authorities to characterize the massacre as a “terrorist” and “antisemitic” act.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described it as an “act of absolute evil” that “deliberately targeted the Jewish community,” announcing that flags across the country would be flown at half-mast as a sign of mourning.
Father and son were the attackers – 24-year-old hospitalized
Police confirmed that the perpetrators were a father and son, aged 50 and 24. The 50-year-old, Shahid Akram, was killed at the scene by police, while the 24-year-old, Naveed Akram, is hospitalized in critical but stable condition. The police chief announced that no other suspects are being sought.
The 50-year-old attacker was a member of a shooting club and held a license for long guns. According to authorities, he owned six firearms, which are believed to have been used in the attack. Police pledged to fully investigate how the weapons were acquired and used.
As police announced in the early hours of Monday (Greek time), the 24-year-old Naveed Akram was born in Australia. His 50-year-old father arrived in the country in 1998 on a student visa, which in 2001 was converted into a partner visa and, after trips abroad, he received a resident return visa three times.
According to the Australian prime minister, authorities first dealt with the 24-year-old in 2019 “based on his associations,” adding that the assessment concluded there were no indications of an ongoing threat or risk of involvement in violent acts.
However, Australia’s ABC reports that ISIS flags were found in the car used by the two terrorists on Sunday, adding that Australian FBI-equivalent officers working on the case believe they had developed ties with ISIS.
International media also report that the 24-year-old had studied at the Al Murad Islamic Center, as in 2022 he was highlighted in a photograph praising him for his excellent knowledge of “all the rules of tajweed”—the recitation rules of the Qur’an.
The investigation and plans for changes to gun laws
The government of New South Wales is considering changes to the already strict firearms legislation, with state Premier Chris Minns stating that the “shocking act of violence” requires a “crushing response.”
At the same time, two police officers remain hospitalized following their involvement in the incident, while police presence has been increased at places of worship.
The victims
The list of victims includes, among others, a 10-year-old girl, two rabbis, a Holocaust survivor, and a young French man.
The youngest victim of the terrorist attack was 10-year-old Matilda, whose aunt wrote on social media: “A great tragedy struck my family; yesterday my beloved niece Matilda was killed in the terrorist attack at Bondi Beach. I don’t know how we will endure such grief.”
Former police officer Peter Meger was also killed. After his retirement, he volunteered at Randwick Rugby Club and pursued his hobby, photography. According to reports, the unfortunate man was at the beach on a photographic assignment when the shooting occurred.
Tibor Witzen was fatally wounded while trying to protect his wife from the gunfire; the woman ultimately survived.
Rabbi Eli Schlanger was the father of five children and one of the organizers of the “Chanukah by the Sea” event that became the target of the gunmen.
The second rabbi killed was Yaakov Levitan, who had worked in a global organization dedicated to spreading Jewish faith and traditions around the world.
Eighty-seven-year-old Alex Kleitman, a Holocaust survivor, was killed while protecting his wife, to whom he had been married for nearly six decades. As his wife told the Daily Mail, “I think he was shot in the back of the head because he stood up to protect me.”
Reuven Morrison served as an assistant at the local synagogue and was killed while on his way to meet a friend at the fateful event.
The 27-year-old French Jew Dan Elkayam, whose death was confirmed by the French foreign minister, had moved to Australia about a year ago to work as an engineer.
Timeline of the attack – How the perpetrators acted
The incident unfolded shortly before 6:45 p.m. (local time – 9:45 a.m. Greek time), during a particularly busy period. The summer weekend had brought hundreds of people to the beach, with walkers, swimmers, and surfers present when the shooting broke out.
Witnesses said the gunfire on the crowded beach lasted about 10 minutes, and hundreds of people began running in panic across the sand and into nearby streets and parks.
Police emphasized that approximately 1,000 people were attending the Hanukkah event.
“We all panicked and started running too. We left everything behind—flip-flops, everything. We were just running up the hills,” said local resident Marcos Carvalho, 38.
Bondi resident Grace Matthew said people ran past her as she heard gunshots. “At first, you think it’s a beautiful day at the beach. You think people are just having fun. Then more people started running and said there’s a gunman, there’s a mass shooting and they’re killing people,” she said.
“We heard gunshots. It was shocking… ten minutes of continuous gunfire. It sounded like a powerful weapon,” Camilo Díaz, a 25-year-old Chilean student who was at the scene, told Agence France-Presse.
“There were gunshots, two gunmen dressed in black and armed with semi-automatic rifles,” recounted another witness, Timothy Brand-Coles, a British tourist.
On the green hillside overlooking the beach, an AFP journalist saw many items abandoned amid the panic of those trying to escape the gunfire, including a baby stroller.
The national broadcaster ABC showed images of people lying on the grass near the beach, as well as a rifle leaning against a tree trunk. “There is blood everywhere,” local resident Harry Wilson told ABC.
As night fell, the usually lively and noisy neighborhood was evacuated, armed police cordoned off the bustling streets, and the lights of nightlife venues gave way to the sirens of emergency vehicles flashing like strobes.
Investigations into a third attacker
“This attack targeted Sydney’s Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah,” said New South Wales Premier Chris Minns during a press conference. In the same vein, NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon emphasized that it was a “terrorist act.”
“We discovered an improvised explosive device in a car linked to the deceased attacker,” he said, adding that a specialized bomb disposal unit was operating at the scene to identify any additional explosive devices.
One of the suspected attackers was killed, a second is hospitalized in critical condition, and police are investigating whether a third attacker was involved, Lanyon said. Two police officers were among the 29 people taken to hospital with injuries, he added.
Authorities said many more people would have been killed if not for a passerby, identified by media as Ahmed al-Ahmed, a 43-year-old fruit shop owner, who—as seen in a video—charged and grabbed the weapon from one of the attackers while he was shooting at unarmed civilians, without however trying to use it against the second shooter. Chris Minns called the passerby a “true hero” and said the video was “the most incredible scene I have ever seen.” “There are many, many people alive tonight because of his bravery,” Minns emphasized.
Mike Burgess, a senior Australian intelligence official, said one of the suspects was known to authorities but had not been considered an immediate threat.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese convened a meeting of the national security council and condemned the attack, saying the evil unleashed was “beyond comprehension.” “This is a targeted attack against Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith,” he said. “An attack against Jewish Australians is an attack against all Australians,” he added.
“In this dark hour for our nation, our police and security services are working to identify anyone connected to this atrocity.”
One of the worst attacks on synagogues
Today’s attack is among the worst in a series of antisemitic attacks on synagogues, buildings, and cars in Australia since the start of the war between Israel and the Gaza Strip in October 2023.
Australia’s Jewish diaspora is small in number but deeply integrated into the broader community, with about 150,000 people identifying as Jewish in a country of 27 million. Approximately one-third are estimated to live in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, including Bondi.
“If we were deliberately targeted in this way, it is something on a scale none of us could ever imagine. It is horrific,” Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive officer of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, told Sky News, adding that his media adviser was injured in the attack.
Mass shootings are rare in Australia, one of the safest countries in the world.
Sunday’s attack was the worst since 1996, when a gunman killed 35 people at a tourist site in the southern state of Tasmania.
Australia’s National Council of Imams condemned the shooting in a statement: “These acts of violence and crimes have no place in our society. Those responsible must be fully held to account and face the full force of the law.” “This is the moment for all Australians, including the Australian Muslim community, to stand united with unity, compassion, and solidarity,” it added.
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