Citing Australian authorities, media reports say two gunmen attacked a Jewish festival at Sydney’s popular Bondi Beach yesterday, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reportedly said the “devastating” mass shooting on Sunday, which police are calling a “terrorist” incident, was “a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah”.
“The evil that was unleashed at Bondi Beach today is beyond comprehension, and the trauma and loss that families are dealing with tonight is beyond anyone’s worst nightmare,” Albanese added.
About 40 people remain in hospital after the shooting, according to a police statement from the state of New South Wales (NSW), where Sydney is located.
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said the shooting sent shock waves across Australia.
One of the alleged shooters, a 50-year-old man, was killed at the scene. His 24-year-old son, the second gunman, was taken into custody and is in a critical condition, Lanyon said.
Lanyon said authorities were not looking for a third person, according to Al Jazeera.
The police commissioner added that the 50-year-old man had six firearms licenses and that six firearms were found at the scene. Lanyon also told journalists that two active “rudimentary” explosive devices were found at the scene of the shooting.
Australian Prime Minister Antony Albanese said yesterday that flags will fly at half-mast on Monday as Australia mourns what was a “dark day in our nation’s history”.
Meanwhile, footage uploaded to social media shows a bystander in a car park running up to one of the gunmen, who holds a long rifle. The bystander then tackles the suspect, wrestles the rifle away from him and points the weapon back at him. A “hero” bystander has been named as 43-year-old Ahmed al Ahmed,
Mr. Ahmed, a fruit shop owner and father of two, reportedly remains in hospital, where he has undergone surgery for bullet wounds to his arm and hand, his family told 7News Australia.
On Monday, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed media reports that Ahmed al-Ahmed was the bystander who intervened.
“Ahmed al-Ahmed took the gun off that perpetrator at great risk to himself and suffered serious injury as a result of that, and is currently going through an operation today in hospital,” Albanese told reporters.
Albanese said the actions of the two attackers were “completely out of place with the way that Australia functions as a society”, contrasting them with al-Ahmed’s response, according to Al Jazeera.
The BBC says several Muslim communities in Australia have issued condemnations of the Bondi attack.
Australian National Imams Council, a body representing imams and Muslims in the country, said in a statement: "While this attack has targeted the Jewish community, it is in reality an attack on all of us, including the Muslim community. This violent terrorist act constitutes an attack on all Australians."
"Antisemitism, expressed through hate, harassment, and violence directed at the Jewish community, has no place in our society," it added.
"We urge the community and representatives to reach out to their Jewish neighbors, friends, and colleagues to offer support and comfort during this difficult time."
The Alliance of Australian Muslims, which consists of Muslim organizations across the country, said in a statement that "those responsible must be held fully accountable and face the full force of the law".
