It was absolute chaos: the Jewish community was the target of the deadliest shooting in Australia in decades
According to police, at least 11 people were killed and more than two dozen were, including a child.
The first day of Hanukkah was a sweltering day in Sydney, a perfect afternoon to spend on Australia's most iconic beach.
More than 1,000 people were enjoying a festival marking the occasion in a green area of ??Bondi: the Children ran around with painted faces, the crowd milled among the food trucks, and many enjoyed the live entertainment while soaking up the last rays of sunshine. Then, just before 7 pm local time, gunshots range out. From a small pedestrian bridge, a few meters from a children's playground, armed men fired into the crowd gathered in the fenced-off area. Nearby was a car full of improvised explosive devices, although they never detonated. A bystander, who identified himself only as Barry, described how he saw people being shot at as hundreds of bathers began screaming and running through the park to escape the attack. “It was pandemonium, absolute chaos,” he told the BBC. A video showed a man—dubbed a “real hero” by state authorities—leapping from behind a parked car to disarm one of the attackers and push him. “It was just an unbelievable scene… In this day and age, that families and children in Bondi could be completely massacred for being Jews,” Barry said. At least 11 people have died and more than two dozen have been injured, including a child. Police have also killed one of the shooters, another is in critical condition in hospital, and police say they are investigating whether a third person helped organize the attack. This is a devastating and unprecedented event for Australia: the deadliest shooting in the country since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996. That attack, in which 35 people died, It marked a turning point and led the government to introduce some of the strictest gun control measures in the world.
Since then, we have had only a handful of mass shootings, most of them horrific acts of domestic violence, not public attacks like today's.
Police have quickly labeled it a terrorist attack, amid a rise in antisemitic attacks in Australia since Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7 and the subsequent Israeli offensive on Gaza.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called it an “act of evil antisemitism” and a “vile act of violence and hatred.”
However, some, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have accused him of failing to address the rising trend of antisemitism in the country.
“The Australian government, which has received countless warning signals, must come to its senses!” wrote Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar in future in Australia.
"To face this horrific act of antisemitic violence during the Jewish holiday of light and hope is devastating. In moments like this, we stand together," the Jewish Council of Australia said in a statement.
There are many things the police cannot yet—or will not—reveal. But they have declared it a terrorist attack.
It is still unknown who the attackers are—or even how many there are—and what their motives are. They said one of the attackers was known to police, but was not under surveillance for anything like this. Authorities also declined to answer any questions about the fatalities, out of respect for the families, who are still being notified. “It's too early to give that information” was the most repeated phrase at the press conference held Sunday night. But, unable to provide answers, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon tried to reassure the public. Police are dedicating all their resources to this investigation, he stated. He urged the community to remain calm and avoid spreading misinformation online, including speculation about the victims and the perpetrators of the attack.
“I want to make sure there are no reprisals,” said Commissioner Lanyon.
Local politicians have also asked people not to share graphic images of the attack on social media.
After the shooting, sirens wailed throughout the city and the area around Bondi was filled with police cars, while helicopters circled overhead.
There we found Fin Green, who was FaceTimed with his family in the UK when he saw the shooting from his window. Not quite sure what was happening, he hid in his closet for an hour and a half, until he felt it was safe to come out.
Danny Clayton, a journalist who was on the beach and witnessed the events from the Bondi Pavilion, said some people crashed their cars while trying to flee.
Many others in the area told similar stories. William Doliente Petty, a restaurant employee, said he was serving a customer when he heard the gunshots. “All the staff in the restaurant got up and we ran for the back exit.”
Australia prides itself on being a happy and safe country, and Bondi Beach has long been a symbol of that. But that image has been shattered, and residents are in disbelief.
Sunday's attack came less than two years after another nearby tragedy. In April of last year, there was a deadly knife attack in nearby Bondi Junction. Shocked, many then uttered the same words we have heard time and again today: “This kind of thing doesn't happen here.”