SYDNEY: An attack by a father and son during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach killed 15 people, plunging Australia into a day of mourning on Monday.
Here’s what we know:
Gunshots in Bondi
Emergency services responded to reports of shots fired at 6:47 p.m. (0747 GMT) on Sunday at Bondi Beach, one of the biggest tourist attractions in Australia’s largest city.
The shooting took place during an annual event celebrating Hanukkah, to which police gathered about 1,000 people.
Victims
According to police, the attackers fired into the crowd, killing 15 people aged between 10 and 87.
The youngest victim, a 10-year-old girl, later died at a children’s hospital, while 42 people were hospitalized overnight, including five in critical condition.
Among them are two police officers injured in a shootout with the gunmen.
Attackers
Police said one of the attackers was a 50-year-old father who was shot and killed during a shootout with police.
The other was his 24-year-old son, who is in critical condition in hospital under police guard.
Australian media named them as Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram.
In a statement, police said the two men used “long guns to shoot at crowds.”
The father was licensed to have six firearms, all of which police believe were used in the shooting.
Police do not believe anyone else was involved.
Terrorism
The attack was declared a terrorist incident at 9:36 p.m. (10:36 GMT) by New South Wales Premier Chris Minns.
As a result, the federal government and the police launched a joint counter-terrorism operation.
Global Condemnations
The attack sparked global condemnation, led by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who called it an act of “pure evil.”
US President Donald Trump said it was a “purely anti-Semitic attack”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Australian government of “pouring fuel on the fire of anti-Semitism” by failing to act strongly enough before the shooting.
