SYDNEY — Prime Minister Anthony Albanese proposed tougher gun laws after a father and son opened fire on a Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach, killing 15 people before the older man was shot dead, in what officials called a targeted anti-Semitic attack. The death of the 50-year-old father brought the toll to 16, police said. His 24-year-old son was critically wounded and remains in hospital.
Albanese said his government would take “whatever action is necessary,” adding that firearms licensing rules need tightening. “People can be radicalised over a period of time. Licences should not be in perpetuity,” he told reporters, saying he would take reforms to a National Cabinet meeting with state premiers.
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Police said the shooting erupted yesterday evening as crowds gathered near the sand for the start of Hanukkah. Witnesses described about 10 minutes of gunfire that sent hundreds fleeing into nearby streets. Around 1,000 people were attending the event in a small park off the beach, authorities said.
Forty people remain in hospital, including two police officers in serious but stable condition. The victims ranged in age from 10 to 87. Police said the father, who had held a firearms licence since 2015, was licensed for six weapons believed to have been used in the attack.
Video from the scene appeared to show at least a bolt-action rifle and a shotgun. “We are very much working through the background of both persons,” New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said. “At this stage, we know very little about them.” Authorities later said they were confident only two attackers were involved after earlier checking reports of a possible third.
Home Minister Tony Burke said the father arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa and his son is an Australian-born citizen. Police declined to release their names.
A bystander who tackled and disarmed one of the gunmen was hailed as a hero after footage circulated from the scene. 7News Australia identified him as Ahmed al Ahmed, citing a relative who said the 43-year-old fruit shop owner was shot twice and underwent surgery. A fundraising page for him has raised more than A$350,000. Police did not confirm his identity.
Albanese visited Bondi Beach to lay flowers at a growing memorial at the pavilion, where Israeli and Australian flags were placed among bouquets. “What we saw yesterday was an act of pure evil, an act of anti-Semitism, an act of terrorism on our shores in an iconic Australian location,” he said. “The Jewish community are hurting today. Today, all Australians wrap our arms around them and say ‘we stand with you.’ We will do whatever is necessary to stamp out anti-Semitism. It is a scourge, and we will eradicate it together.”
He urged Australians to light a candle in solidarity with the Jewish community “to show that light will indeed defeat darkness — part of what Hanukkah celebrates,” and said flags would fly at half-staff nationwide. The prime minister said several world leaders, including former U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, had offered condolences and support.
The Bondi Beach shooting is the most serious in a string of anti-Semitic incidents reported in Australia since the outbreak of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023, including attacks on synagogues, buildings and cars. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had warned Albanese that Australia’s support for Palestinian statehood would fuel anti-Semitism. In August, Australia accused Iran of directing at least two anti-Semitic attacks and gave Tehran’s ambassador a week to leave the country.
Mass shootings have been rare in Australia since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, when 35 people were killed in Tasmania. That attack led to sweeping national reforms long viewed as a global benchmark, including a gun buyback scheme, a national firearms register and strict limits on semi-automatic weapons. Albanese’s call for tougher gun laws signals potential new scrutiny of licence duration and ongoing vetting as the country confronts its deadliest mass shooting in decades.
As forensic teams worked the foreshore, a grassy hill above the beach was strewn with belongings left behind by those fleeing — flip flops, blankets and a camping table — which volunteers later gathered and lined up in the sand for collection. Police and private Jewish security guards stood watch as mourners filed past the memorial to lay flowers and sign an online condolence book.
Police urged anyone with footage or information about the Bondi Beach shooting to come forward as the investigation continues.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
