Australia experienced one of its deadliest mass shootings in its history on Sunday when two gunmen opened fire on a Jewish celebration at Bondi in Sydney. At least 16 people are dead, including one of the alleged killers.
Here is what we know so far:
On Sunday at 6.47pm local time, police and emergency services were called to Archer Park next to Sydney’s Bondi beach after reports of gunshots.
Footage shared on social media showed two gunmen firing continuously at a large group who had gathered to celebrate the Jewish festival of Hanukah. Police alleged the pair used long arms to fire at crowds of people.
At least 15 people were killed in the attack. Among the dead are Holocaust survivor Alexander Kleytman, London-born rabbi Eli Schlanger, French national Dan Elkayam, businessman Reuven Morrison, retired police officer Peter Meagher and a 10-year-old girl named Matilda. Police believe the oldest victim is 87.
Forty-one people – including four children – were taken to hospital after the attack. As of 8pm Wednesday local time, there were 17 people in Sydney hospitals. One was in a critical condition, four were in a critical but stable condition and 15 were in a stable condition.
Two police officers were among the injured. On Wednesday NSW police said one was in a critical but stable condition, while the other was in a stable condition.
Police said they were treating the attack as an act of terrorism.
The alleged gunmen were a 50-year-old, who was shot by police and died at the scene, and his 24-year-old son, who suffered critical injuries and was taken to hospital under police guard where he remained on Wednesday. The 24-year-old was in a coma but regained consciousness on Tuesday, NSW police confirmed.
Media have identified them as Naveed Akram and his father, Sajid Akram.
On Wednesday, NSW police said they had formally charged the 24-year-old had been charged with 59 offences, including committing a terrorist attack, 15 counts of murder and 40 counts of wounding or grievous bodily harm with intent to murder. He has also been charged with discharging a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, causing a public display of a prohibited terrorist organisation symbol and placing an explosive in or near a building with intent to cause harm.
Police said they will allege in court the man “engaged in conduct that caused death, serious injury and endangered life to advance a religious cause and cause fear in the community”. Police said “early indications point to a terrorist attack inspired by Isis, a listed terrorist organisation in Australia”.
Naveed Akram is an Australian-born citizen, the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, said. His father arrived in 1998 on a student visa, transferred in 2001 to a partner visa and, after trips overseas, had been on resident return visas three times.
New South Wales police and the director general of Asio, Mike Burgess, said one of the shooters was known to authorities, “but not in an immediate threat perspective”.
Both Naveed and Sajid Akram travelled to the Philippines in November, but Lanyon said the reason for their travel and what they did when they while there was still under investigation.
According to an Agence France-Press report, a Filipino immigration department spokesperson said the pair arrived in the country on 1 November and left on 28 November. Sajid Akram entered the country as an “Indian national”, according to the spokesperson.
The NSW police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, said Sajid Akram was a licensed firearms holder with six guns. On Tuesday, Lanyon clarified that Akram applied for a licence in 2015 but it lapsed as he did not get a photo taken. He applied again in 2020 and the licence was issued in 2023.
Bomb disposal experts removed two active improvised explosive devices from a car registered to Naveed Akram the scene. Police said on Monday a third IED was located at Bondi.
The car registered to Naveed also contained two homemade Islamic State flags, Lanyon said on Tuesday.
State leaders agreed to strengthen gun laws across the country after the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, convened a urgent meeting of national cabinet on Monday.
Gun owners face limits on the number of firearms they can hold and licences would only be issued to Australian citizens under tougher new controls.
The NSW government is planning to recall parliament next week to introduce new gun restrictions. On Wednesday, NSW premier Chris Minns announced his government’s plan to further restrict protests after a terrorism designation.
On Monday Albanese said the attack was “an act of pure evil”. “An act of terror, an act of antisemitism. An attack on the first day of Hanukah targeted at the Jewish community. A dark day in Australia’s history on what should have been a day of light.”
Tales of heroism have come to light. A 43-year-old man, Ahmed al-Ahmed, was identified by Albanese as the man seen on footage tackling and disarming one of the shooters from behind, while the sound of gunshots rang out around him. Volunteer surf life-savers rushed from their neighbouring club to attend to victims.
More than 20,000 people across Australia have made an appointment to donate blood.
Messages of sympathy, shock and condolence were sent by King Charles and many other world figures, including US president Donald Trump, the UN secretary general António Guterres, UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, and former US president Barack Obama.
Albanese has rejected the suggestion from Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Australia’s recognition of the state of Palestine had caused the terror attack by “pour[ing] fuel on the antisemitic fire”.
The massacre is the worst Australia has seen since the 1995 Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania when 35 people were murdered – an attack that sparked widespread gun law reforms.
