The Dictatorship
At least 12 killed in shooting at Jewish celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach
At least a dozen people have been killed and nearly 30 others injured in a shooting at a Hanukkah celebration on Sunday at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia.
Among the dead is one of the two identified shooters, according to New South Wales police. The second alleged shooter is in critical condition. Authorities are calling the incident a terrorist attack and are investigating to determine if there are other threats.
The shooting took place at a “Chanukah by the Sea” celebration, near a children’s playground. Emergency services were called to the area around 6:45 p.m. local time.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said in a press briefing on Sunday evening that officers had found a nearby vehicle, linked to the suspect who was killed, with what appeared to be several improvised explosive devices inside. Lanyon said a rescue bomb disposal unit was on the scene.
Police have requested mobile phone or dashcam video relevant to the shooting from those in the Bondi Beach area.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the shooting “a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hannaukah, which should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith.”
Albanese, along with New South Wales Premier Chris Minns, praised a bystander who took quick action to disarm one of the gunmen. Video circulating on social media shows a bystander wrestling with a gunman before ripping his weapon away. Australian media outlet 7News identified the bystander as Sutherland shop owner Ahmed al Ahmed and reported that he was in the hospital recovering from gunshot wounds to his arm.
“It’s the most unbelievable scene I’ve ever seen,” Minns said. “A man walking up to a gunman who had fired on the community and single-handedly disarming him, putting his own life at risk to save the lives of countless other people. That man in a genuine hero.”
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter and producer for MS NOW. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.