Police were outgunned during Bondi beach massacre due to lack of long-arm rifles, royal commission hears | Royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion
The royal commission on anti-Semitism and social cohesion reported that police were unarmed in the Bondi massacre on December 14 and were armed with 9mm Glock pistols in the gunfight against rifles.
New South Wales police assistant commissioner David Hudson gave evidence to the commission that officers put themselves in harm’s way to shoot and neutralize attackers.
“Frankly, on December 14, our police officers took significant risk by engaging in a long-arm firefight with 9mm Glocks,” Hudson said.
He told the commission that a plan to establish an armed response command of 210 officers carrying long-armed weapons was “escalated” but would take at least another 12 months to reach full staff.
The NSW Police Association (the officers’ union) made representations to police forces and the government after the Bondi terror attack about arming officers with long guns more consistently.
“The greater availability of long guns is certainly a response to that and also provides better protection for the community,” Hudson said.
He also told the commission that he thought it would be “problematic” to grant additional powers or privileges to the Community Security Group, which provides security services to the Jewish community, and that police would have “significant reservations” about it.
“Isolating a particular group within our society for additional powers is problematic. It creates a disconnect between groups. If a particular element of society is granted privileges that others do not have, it can cause friction between groups,” said Hudson.
The commission was established by the federal government following the Bondi terrorist attack. It was previously heard that on the evening of December 14, 2025, two gunmen opened fire on members of the Jewish community celebrating Hanukkah from a footbridge above Archer Park on Bondi beach, using a bolt-action, high-powered rifle and a shotgun.
The couple killed 15 people. Sajid Akram was shot dead by the police; His son, Naveed Akram, was shot and wounded and remains in custody on charges of 15 murders and one act of terrorism that investigators allege were “inspired” by the Islamic State.
The commission heard this week that gunmen shot 11 people with long arms and fatally wounded 10 within 30 seconds of opening fire at the Hanukkah event.
The pair were subdued after seven minutes and 41 seconds. Det Sen Const Cesar Barraza is believed to have fired a 9mm Glock pistol, killing Sajid, 50, and disarming Naveed, 24.
Two police officers, Const Scott Dyson and probationary Const Jack Hibbert, were seriously injured in the attack.
Following the Bondi tragedy, NSW police announced the establishment of an armed response command, an intelligence-led unit that will patrol high-risk areas, places of worship, major events and mass gatherings such as protests and sporting events.
“The unit will consist of 250 police officers and this will be a dedicated 24/7 police operation,” Policing and Counter-Terrorism Minister Yasmin Catley said in February.
“Over the summer we have seen police walking around with long-armed weapons at our major events, this will become part of the normal capability of the operation.”
Hudson told the commission Wednesday morning that it would take up to two years to establish and fully staff the command, but that process has been expedited and the command will be fully operational within 12 months.
About 210 of the officers are expected to carry long weapons, while the remaining positions are expected to be filled by command and intelligence officers.
Mr Hudson told the royal commission: “The new Armed Response Command team is expected to be in a position to respond differently or more quickly than the existing capability, for example a riot squad or anti-riot force team.” [tactical operations unit].”
Hudson said the riot squad was used “cautiously” to carry long weapons. Officers carrying long arms cannot engage in crowd control for security reasons.
“The armed response command will have a dual purpose [for] “High visibility operations, both static and mobile, similar to the models we see abroad,” he said.
Hudson was also questioned about sharing information between state and state law enforcement, security and intelligence agencies. Each had “different interpretations” of how information should be shared, which at times led to conflicts, he said.
He said NSW police had a “very clear” interpretation of the incident. Protective Security Policy FrameworkIt determines which information can be shared with which institutions and under what conditions. But Hudson told the commission that other institutions were not so open.
“If there is risk or threat, we share information with other agencies, but sometimes other agencies may not be as forthright and that has created a challenge in dealing with other agencies in terms of engagement with information sharing,” he said.
“In my opinion, getting information to the areas where it needs to be should be a priority that needs to be addressed appropriately. [framework]and as justification for not sharing information.”
