10 confirmed dead in mass shooting; NSW Police arrest two men
Updated ,first published
At least 11 people were shot dead and 12 others, including two police officers, were injured after several gunmen opened fire on a packed crowd at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in what NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon described as a terrorist attack.
Just after 6.40pm on Sunday, the first night of the Jewish holiday Hanukkah, shots were fired, sending hundreds of terrified people running for their lives from the beach. NSW Premier Chris Minns said the attack was a targeted attack on the Jewish community.
NSW Police confirmed that at least 12 people were killed, including one gunman, while 12 people, including two police officers, were reported injured. Police said the second alleged attacker was in critical condition.
Police confirmed two men were detained at Bondi Beach.
Police said a number of suspicious items were found near where the attacks took place and were being examined by specialist officers while a restricted zone was established.
People in Bondi reported hearing up to 50 gunshots and unconfirmed footage taken by a local showed a gunman dressed in a dark blouse and white trousers opening fire repeatedly on 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. One of the gunmen was firing a rifle in a grassy area next to the Campbell Parade car park when bystanders approached him.
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.”
Alex Ryvchin, co-chairman of Australian Jews, told Sky News the annual Hanukkah event in Bondi and Dover Heights was packed with families and if this was a targeted attack on the Jewish community, “our worst fears have come true”.
Minns called a late-night crisis cabinet meeting to receive briefings and updates from key government agencies as the tragedy unfolded.
The meeting is coordinating 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.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government was aware of an “active security situation” in Bondi.
“We urge people in the area to follow information from NSW Police,” the spokesman said.
United Nations secretary-general Antonio 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.”
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Emily Kaine is a national news blogger for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
