Australia is grappling with its deadliest mass shooting in nearly three decades after a father and son killed at least 15 people at a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach, Sydney, leaving dozens more injured.
The gunmen, identified by media outlets as 50-year-old Sajid Akram and his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram, opened fire on the crowd for 10 to 20 minutes before police arrived. Sajid Akram was killed at the scene, while his son remains in critical condition in hospital. Victims ranged in age from 10 to 87, including a Holocaust survivor, a rabbi, a retired police officer, and a young girl. Forty people were hospitalized, two of them police officers.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emphasized the ideological motivation behind the attack. He remarked, “The attackers were not part of a terror cell, but clearly, they were motivated by extremist ideology.” Albanese also pledged support to the Jewish community, stating, “All Australians wrap our arms around them and say, we stand with you.”
The incident has prompted the Albanese government to pursue stricter firearms regulations. Cabinet has agreed to consider measures including restrictions on the number and types of weapons permitted under gun licences, limits on licence duration, and the development of a national firearms register. “People’s circumstances can change. Licences should not be in perpetuity,” Albanese noted. Authorities said one of the gunmen was previously known to security services but had not been deemed an immediate threat.
Globally, leaders have extended condolences, including from U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, highlighting the international concern over the attack. Mass shootings remain rare in Australia, with the previous deadliest incident occurring in 1996 at Port Arthur, Tasmania, which claimed 35 lives.
