10 confirmed dead in mass shooting; NSW Police arrest two men
Updated ,first published
At least 12 people were shot dead and 29 others, including two police officers, were injured after two gunmen opened fire on a large crowd celebrating the Jewish festival at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in what NSW Premier Chris Minns described as a terrorist attack.
Just after 6.40pm on Sunday, hundreds of terrified people celebrating Hanukkah on the beach began running for their lives when shots were fired. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was an attack targeting Australian Jews and a demonic act of anti-Semitism.
NSW Police confirmed the deaths of at least 12 people, including one of the shooter, while 29 people, including two police officers in a serious condition, were taken to hospitals across Sydney. The condition of the second alleged gunman is critical.
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon declared the attack a terrorist incident and granted special powers to investigate whether a third offender was involved.
“No stone will be left unturned. We will pursue anyone we know who has links to these gunmen and take action to keep the community safe,” he said.
“This type of disgraceful activity, this wanton use of violence, this taking of innocent lives is unacceptable for NSW.”
Late on Sunday night, one of the alleged gunmen was identified as bricklayer Naveed Akram, 24, from Sydney’s west.
A large number of IEDs were also recovered by bomb disposal experts from a car parked in Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach, which was linked to the dead gunman. The police operation extended to a street in the western Sydney suburb of Bonnyrigg, where two men were arrested in connection with the shootings in Bondi late on Sunday night.
Earlier in the evening, people in Bondi reported hearing up to 50 gunshots, while footage taken by a local showed a gunman dressed in a dark top and white trousers firing repeatedly onto the beach. He appeared to pause briefly to reload his rifle when people’s screams were heard.
The footage also shows a bystander wrestling an alleged gunman with a rifle in a moment of bravery that could have saved his life.
As one of the gunmen fired a rifle in a grassy area next to the Campbell Parade car park, he was approached by the heroic bystander, identified by Seven News as a 43-year-old father of two Ahmed al-Ahmad.
Harry Wilson, 30, who witnessed the shooting, said there were “at least 10 people on the ground and he saw blood everywhere.”
The shooting victim, who suffered a leg injury, said he barricaded himself inside the North Bondi surf club with several others. He said he heard dozens of “pops” as people jumped security fences and ran for cover.
One man, who wanted to be known only as B, was on the beach when he heard dozens of gunshots and saw people running and screaming.
He ran to help and saw two young children, aged five or six, hiding under a car. “They said, ‘My mother, my mother,’” he said.
He pulled their mother out from under the car and realized she had been shot twice, in the back of the neck and in the shoulder.
“I had to apply pressure for about 20 minutes,” he said. “Big wounds. I put my fingers into the hole and applied pressure. Then paramedics intervened. “It was like a war zone.”
Another man, who wanted to be known only as Abdulla, was heading towards Campbell Parade when he saw two men shooting from the bridge towards the beach. He drove the car into the parking lot.
“That’s when I saw the first [police] “I ran to the police officer who was shot and tried to help him,” he said. Gunshots could still be heard when he saw the other man helping the woman under the car.
A woman near a beach petting zoo was protecting a five-year-old girl who was separated from her family.
The woman was separated from her husband and daughter shortly after the shooting began. “I just wanted to make sure my wife and daughter were okay,” he said.
He said he saw a young boy with a gunshot wound to the leg and four bodies nearby. A man was shot and killed next to his husband.
A distraught black-clad rabbi was embraced by another man and wept into the stranger’s arms. “I’m so sorry for your loss. What was his name?”
Behind them, less than 50 meters from the sand and the bridge where the shooters opened fire, a body lay under a white sheet. A man was sitting on a plastic chair, his feet touching the sheets. Appearing to be friends with the deceased.
A few meters away another man was injured from pellet wounds.
Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said his community was subjected to a horrific act of violence as they gathered on the first night of Hanukkah.
“This is a day of deep sorrow. Members of our community were killed. Others were seriously injured. Families were torn apart. A sacred moment of light turned to darkness.”
“Let me be clear. An attack on Jews celebrating their faith is an attack on Australia itself. It is an attack on our values, on our social cohesion and on people’s fundamental right to assemble without fear.”
Allegra Harcama, independent federal MP for Wentworth, said the whole community was reeling from the terror attack.
“This breaks my heart and breaks the hearts of all of us who love our diverse community and value the strong Australian Jewish community that is a vital part of Wentworth and our nation,” he said.
Minns called a late-night crisis cabinet meeting to receive briefings and updates from key government agencies as the tragedy unfolded.
The meeting coordinated a rapid response with key ministers and institutions to deal with the deadly incident. Minns said the news and images from Bondi were extremely distressing.
“Our hearts bleed for the Jewish community tonight. I can only imagine the pain they feel when they see their loved ones murdered while celebrating this ancient holiday. It is the responsibility of all Australians to embrace the Jewish community in Australia,” Minns said.
Albanese said the attack on Australian Jews was an attack on every Australian on a day of celebration.
“This is a targeted attack on Australian Jews, a day of joy, a celebration of faith,” he said.
“There is no place for this hatred, violence and terrorism in our nation, and let me be clear, we will eliminate it. A moment of national unity will emerge in the midst of this vile act of violence and hatred.”
ASIO chief executive Mike Burgess said the identities of the attackers were being investigated and whether there was anyone else in the community with similar intentions. “It’s important to emphasize at this point that we have no indication of this fact, but it is something we have active investigations into,” he said.
Burgess confirmed one of the suspected suspects was known to ASIO and NSW Police but was not considered an immediate threat. “Obviously we need to investigate what’s going on here,” he said.
United Nations secretary-general António Guterres expressed his dismay at the events.
“I am horrified and condemn today’s abhorrent deadly attack on Jewish families gathered in Sydney to celebrate Hanukkah,” he said on the official X account.
“My heart goes out to the worldwide Jewish community on this first day of Hanukkah, a festival that celebrates the miracle of peace and light that dispels darkness.”
Bondi terror attack given more coverage
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Emily Kaine is a national news blogger for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
