At least 12 people died and 29 were injured when gunmen opened fire on a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday evening. Two attackers dressed in black fired automatic rifles from a bridge into crowds of families gathered for the religious festival. One gunman was shot dead by police. A second suspect remains in critical condition in hospital. Authorities are investigating whether a third attacker was involved.
The shooting began shortly after 6:30 pm local time as hundreds attended the “Chanukah by the Sea” event near the iconic beach. New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon declared it a terrorist incident designed to target Sydney’s Jewish community. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called it “an act of evil antisemitism” that struck the heart of the nation.
Police found an improvised explosive device in a vehicle linked to the deceased gunman. Witnesses described scenes of panic and bloodshed. Video footage showed one brave bystander tackling a gunman and wrenching his rifle away, an act officials called heroic and life-saving.
Who Is Naveed Akram?
One of the gunmen has been identified as Naveed Akram, a 24-year-old man from Sydney’s southwest suburb of Bonnyrigg. According to ABC Australia, Akram carried out the attack at the crowded beach during a busy weekend. Police raided his home in Bonnyrigg on Sunday evening as part of the ongoing investigation.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said one of the shooters was known to authorities but had very limited prior interaction with police. “The person that we know has very, very little knowledge to the police,” Lanyon told reporters. “So he’s not someone that we would have automatically been looking at at this time.”
Australia’s spy chief Mike Burgess later confirmed that one suspect was known to the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation but not from an immediate threat perspective. “Obviously we need to look at what happened,” Burgess said. The security services are now examining whether the attackers operated with others, potentially overseas.
Police have not yet confirmed whether Akram was the gunman killed by officers or the one arrested and in critical condition. They are also investigating reports of a possible third offender. The names of all suspects are being withheld to protect the investigation.
Was Akram Known to Police?
Australian authorities have identified one of the gunmen as Naveed Akram, a 24-year-old man of Pakistani origin. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, citing a law enforcement source, identified Akram as a resident of Sydney’s southwest suburb of Bonnyrigg. His driver’s license lists his address there. Police raided his home on Sunday evening as part of the ongoing investigation.
According to the Daily Mail, Akram’s family has owned the Bonnyrigg property for about a year. The Jerusalem Post reported that Akram had studied at Central Queensland University in Sydney. He was also previously associated with Hamdard University in Islamabad and the Al Murad Institute.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said one of the shooters was known to authorities but had very limited prior interaction with police. “The person that we know has very, very little knowledge to the police,” Lanyon told reporters. “So he’s not someone that we would have automatically been looking at at this time.”
Australia’s spy chief Mike Burgess later confirmed that one suspect was known to the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation but not from an immediate threat perspective. “Obviously we need to look at what happened,” Burgess said. The security services are now examining whether the attackers operated with others, potentially overseas. Police have not yet confirmed whether Akram was the gunman killed by officers or the one arrested and in critical condition.
What Happened on the Bridge?
The gunmen targeted families celebrating the first day of Hanukkah, a Jewish festival of light that commemorates religious freedom won more than 2,000 years ago. The celebration took place on a green space next to a children’s playground, directly across from a primary school in the family-friendly North Bondi neighborhood.
Footage broadcast by Australian media showed the two black-clad gunmen firing from a footbridge near the beach. They shot methodically into the crowd below. Dramatic video captured by witnesses showed someone tackling and disarming one attacker before pointing the weapon back at him.
Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales, called it “the most unbelievable scene I’ve ever seen.” He said the man who disarmed the gunman “single-handedly disarmed him, putting his own life at risk to save the lives of countless other people.” The bystander, later identified by family as Ahmed Al-Ahmed, a 43-year-old fruit shop owner, was shot twice during the confrontation and underwent surgery.
Who Protected the Little Girl?
Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said his family and friends are “among the dead.” One victim was “a very, very dear friend of mine who became a father again about a month ago,” Ryvchin told BBC Radio 4. “Now his son, born a month ago, will be raised without a father.”
An Israeli citizen was confirmed among the dead by Israel’s foreign ministry. Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who belonged to the Chabad ultra-Orthodox group, also died in the attack. Arsen Ostrovsky, a human rights lawyer visiting from Israel, was hit in the head and said he saw children falling to the ground during the shooting.
One father told how a stranger named Jess shielded his three-year-old daughter by lying on top of her after being shot. “She said: ‘I’ve got your daughter. I’ve been protecting her,'” Wayne told Sky News. The woman survived and went to hospital for treatment.
Police presence has been increased at Jewish venues across the UK and other countries following the attack. The Jewish Leadership Council called on governments to protect Hanukkah events this week. Mass shootings remain rare in Australia, which has strict gun control laws following the 1996 Port Arthur massacre.
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