Grief, loss as Australia mourns Bondi shooting victims
Australians are anxiously awaiting the names of 11 victims after a shocking mass shooting at the country’s most famous beach.
Hundreds of people gathered at Bondi Beach in Sydney to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah after gunmen opened fire.
At least 12 people, including one of the attackers, were killed and 29 others were injured in the terrorist attack, which authorities said was designed to target the Jewish community.
Federal and state law enforcement have launched an investigation into the incident, while police are in the process of notifying the victims’ families.
“The evil unleashed at Bondi Beach today is unimaginable and the trauma and loss families are dealing with tonight is beyond anyone’s worst nightmare,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters in Canberra on Sunday night.
“Our first thoughts are with those who lived in the terrible early hours of their suffering.”
Families sat in the corridors of St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney’s east on Sunday, waiting for updates.
One of the gunmen is in a serious condition in custody and is expected to appear in court after police raided a home in Bonnyrigg, south-west Sydney.
After a large number of handmade explosives were found in a vehicle associated with the dead attacker, the bomb disposal team was dispatched to the scene and the police are investigating the possibility of a third attacker.
But Australian police and intelligence agencies have faced some criticism for their response to the shooting.
Witnesses recalled that the confrontation lasted five minutes before police intervened, and the Australian Security Intelligence Agency acknowledged that one of the alleged gunmen was known to them but was not considered an immediate threat.
ASIO has since committed to investigate the matter and look for others planning similar attacks, although its chief executive stressed there was no indication anyone else in the community had similar intentions.
The shooting has been officially declared a terrorist incident, which will allow ASIO, the Australian Federal Police and their state counterparts to exercise special powers as they investigate the incident.
Mr Albanese also signaled that additional funding for the security of the Jewish community – a recommendation from Special Envoy to Combat Anti-Semitism Jillian Segal – would also be considered.
There was reaction from world leaders, with Israeli President Isaac Herzog saying “the heart of the entire nation longs to beat right now, as we pray for the recovery of the wounded, we pray for them, and we pray for those who lost their lives.”
King III. While Charles said he was “horrified and saddened by the most horrific anti-Semitic terrorist attack,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “Our prayers are with the victims of this terrible attack, the Jewish community and the people of Australia.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said that he spoke on the phone with Foreign Minister Penny Wong overnight.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated his past criticism of Mr Albanese, saying in August he had warned the Australian government that “his policy promotes and promotes anti-Semitism in Australia”.
“Anti-Semitism is a cancer. It spreads when leaders remain silent, it recedes when leaders act. I call on you to replace weakness with action, appeasement with determination,” Netanyahu said.
A security guard at the scene of Sunday’s mass shooting, identified only as Vlaj, recalled the chaotic outcome.
“The shooting was going on for four, five minutes straight, probably 50, 60 shots were fired,” he told Sky News.
“I was just covering the bodies because there were dead people everywhere.
“It wasn’t just (any) people, it was people I knew.”
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