What began as a festive seaside gathering ended in chaos and bloodshed when gunfire erupted during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach, leaving a staggering toll of dead and wounded and prompting a sweeping terrorism investigation by Australian authorities.
According to Fox News, police say 16 people were killed in the attack, including one of the shooters, and at least 40 others were hospitalized after the violence broke out Sunday evening during “Chanukah By The Sea,” an annual event marking the start of the Jewish holiday.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon revealed Monday that investigators have identified the attackers as a father and son — a 50-year-old man and his 24-year-old child.
The father was killed at the scene, police said, while the son remains in critical but stable condition in a hospital. Lanyon added that authorities are not searching for any additional suspects.
According to police, the older gunman was a licensed firearm owner who legally possessed six registered weapons. All of the firearms have now been recovered, some from the scene itself and others during the execution of search warrants.
Those warrants were carried out at properties in Campsie and Bonnyrigg. Lanyon said the two men lived in Bonnyrigg but had been staying in Campsie at the time of the attack.
The commissioner noted that the father had held a gun license for a decade and was largely unknown to authorities.
“There was very little knowledge of either of these men by the authorities,” Lanyon said. “The person was determined to be entitled to have a firearms license and…the person had a firearms license for a number of years for which there were no incidents.”
Investigators also uncovered two improvised explosive devices at one of the homes searched. The devices were active when found and were taken into custody by a rescue and bomb disposal unit before being safely rendered inoperable.
Lanyon described the explosives as “rudimentary,” adding he was thankful they did not detonate.
Police said the victims ranged in age from 10 to 87 years old.
The celebration had been scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. with the lighting of the first candle on the Menorah. The shooting occurred around 6:45 p.m. local time.
Authorities confirmed the attack “targeted” the Jewish community and is being investigated as an act of terrorism. Additional evidence of multiple improvised explosive devices was also found inside a vehicle near the scene.
“We have our rescue bomb disposal unit there at the moment working on that,” Lanyon said.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog addressed the attack while speaking in Jerusalem on Sunday.
“At these very moments, our sisters and brothers in Sydney, Australia, have been attacked by vile terrorists in a very cruel attack on Jews who went to light the first candle of Chanukah on Bondi Beach,” Herzog said. “Our hearts go out to them. The heart of the entire nation of Israel misses a beat at this very moment, as we pray for the recovery of the wounded, we pray for them and we pray for those who lost their lives.”
Herzog also urged Australian leaders to confront rising antisemitism, calling on the government to “seek action and fight against the enormous wave of antisemitism which is plaguing Australian society.”
