At Least 15 Killed In Shooting Targeting Jewish Community At Australia’s Bondi Beach, Police Say

At least 15 people were killed Sunday in a mass shooting during a Jewish holiday celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in Australia, officials confirmed.

At the time of the shooting, hundreds had gathered at Bondi Beach to celebrate the start of Hanukkah in an area known as Chanukah by the Sea, PBS reported. Emergency services began responding to Campbell Parade in Bondi around 6:45 p.m. local time after reports of shots being fired, according to The Associated Press.

Two gunmen opened fire on the crowd, with multiple witnesses reportedly saying chaos erupted after some heard the first few “pops.”

“You heard a few pops, and I freaked out and ran away,” Lachlan Moran, 32, told The Press. “I started sprinting. I just had that intuition. I sprinted as quickly as I could.”

“Everyone just dropped all their possessions and everything and were running and people were crying and it was just horrible,” Moran added.

After first responders arrived on scene, one gunman was fatally shot, while the second was arrested and later noted as being in critical condition, according to PBS. New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon confirmed during a press conference the death toll had risen to 12 — earlier reports stated at least 11 were killed — while 29 victims had been transported to various hospitals in the area. The casualty count has since been revised upward.