At least 12 people were killed and 29 others seriously injured when a group of terrorists opened fire at a Jewish festival in Sydney, Australia.
“Police say at least 12 people have been killed in a shooting near a Jewish gathering at Sydney’s Bondi Beach,” the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported. “One shooter was killed, while another is in custody.”
The victims include a Holocaust survivor and a 10- year-old girl. “Those who died are yet to be formally identified but police believe their ages range between 10 and 87-years-old,” The Guardian reported.
The attackers were later identified as a father-and-son duo, aged around 50 and 24. “One of the alleged shooters in the deadly attacks at Bondi Beach in Sydney was Naveed Akram, a man from the city’s south-west, according to a senior law enforcement official,” the ABC (Australia) disclosed late night Sunday.
On Sunday evening local time, more than a thousand people had gathered to celebrate the Hanukkah festival at a children’s playground near Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach when the attack took place. “We know that there were many people there to celebrate a happy occasion — the celebration of Hanukkah. And there was well over 1,000 people there when this took place,” the regional police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, said.
The deadly incident is the latest in a series of terror attacks targeting Australia’s tiny Jewish population. “Officials declared the shooting a terrorist event and said the attack was “designed to target” Jewish people. An event to mark the first day of Hanukkah was taking place on Bondi Beach on Sunday,” NBC News reported.
Further carnage was averted when a courageous bystander wrestled the gun from one of the attackers. The terrorist is seen leaving the scene, The Guardian (UK) reports:
Video of the scene shows the alleged gunman standing on a footpath between a grassy area and parking lot holding a shotgun and firing into the distance.The bystander, who is crouching behind a parked car, rushes towards the alleged gunman as he fires. He leaps on to the alleged gunman and wrestles the shotgun from his hands.The video shows the alleged gunman falling to the ground before the bystander points the shotgun at him as the alleged gunman backs away.As the alleged gunman retreats, the bystander gently places the shotgun against a tree and puts his hand in the air.
Since October 7, 2023, antisemitic and anti-Israel demonstrations have been staged in Sydney and across Australia. Demonstrators in the city make no secret of their genocidal hatred of the Jews. Just days after the October 7 massacre, they were heard chanting ‘Gas the Jews’ outside Sydney’s Opera House. Today, those threats were followed by the actual killing of Jews on the streets of Sydney.
UPDATE: 4:15 PM EST: The death toll has risen from 12 to 16. The headline has been edited to reflect.
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