'A dark day in our history': Girl, 10, among 16 killed in ‘evil’ attack on Bondi Beach

The attack has been declared a terrorist incident targeting a Hanukkah celebration at a park next to the beach on the first day of the Jewish festival of lights, also known as Chanukah, the force confirmed. Picture: AFP

The terrorist gunmen who killed 16 people including a 10-year-old girl and a British-born rabbi in the Bondi Beach attack were father and son, police have confirmed.

The gunmen, armed with what police have described as “long guns”, opened fire on the Archer Park area of the popular beach at 6.47pm local time on Sunday, New South Wales Police said.

The attack has been declared a terrorist incident targeting a Hanukkah celebration at a park next to the beach on the first day of the Jewish festival of lights, also known as Chanukah, the force confirmed.

A total of 42 people were taken to hospital where the 10-year-old girl was among those who died, according to New South Wales Police.

A spokesman for the force said one of the gunmen, a 50-year-old man, was shot by police and died at the scene, while the second attacker, a 24-year-old man, suffered critical injuries and was taken to hospital under police guard.

Two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) which were found at Bondi Beach were removed and made safe, New South Wales Police commissioner Mal Lanyon told a press conference in Sydney.

“They were found to be active devices so they were were taken back and rendered safe,” he said.

He said the IEDs were “fairly basic in terms of construction” and added: “I’m very glad that those devices were not activated.”

He said officers were not looking for anyone else in relation to the Bondi Beach attack.

“I can say that we are not looking for a further offender,” he said.

“We are satisfied that there were two offenders involved in yesterday’s incident.

“One is deceased, the second is in a critical but stable condition in hospital at the moment.”

Mr Lanyon added: “The 50-year old male is a licensed firearms holder. He has six firearms licensed to him. We are satisfied that we have six firearms from the scene yesterday.” 

After a search warrant was carried out in Campsie, a suburb in New South Wales, he said ballistic and forensic investigations had determined that the six firearms were the ones licensed to the man and had been used in the attack at Bondi Beach.

Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese said Sunday had been a “dark day in our nation’s history”.

He told reporters: “What we saw yesterday was an act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism, an act of terrorism on our shores in an iconic Australian location.” 

He said Bondi Beach is “associated with joy, associated with families gathering, associated with celebrations, and it is forever tarnished by what has occurred last evening”.

Mr Albanese continued: “The Jewish community are hurting today.

“Today, all Australians wrap our arms around them and say, ‘we stand with you’.

“We will do whatever is necessary to stamp out antisemitism. It is a scourge, and we will eradicate it together.

“Yesterday was indeed a dark day in our nation’s history, but we as a nation are stronger than the cowards who did this.” The Australian prime minister said flags will fly at half-mast, and thanked world leaders who had sent their condolences.

Man who tackled gunman hailed as hero

Father-of-two Ahmed al Ahmed, from Sydney, has been hailed a hero for tackling one of the gunmen before wrestling the weapon away from him.

Video shared on social media shows the gunman then backing away.

His family have said that the 43-year-old fruit shop owner remains in hospital for bullet wounds to his arm and hand and called him a “100% hero”, while New South Wales Premier Chris Minns praised him as a “genuine hero”.

Mr Minns told a press conference: “This attack was designed to target Sydney’s Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah, what should have been a night of peace and joy celebrated in that community with families and supporters, has been shattered by this horrifying evil attack.”

Mr Minns confirmed one of the alleged gunmen has been killed while the other is in police custody.

“Our heart bleeds for Australia’s Jewish community tonight,” he added.

Mr Lanyon told reporters: “We will continue to investigate this matter thoroughly.

“It’s important for the community to have the reassurance that New South Wales Police, working with our Commonwealth partners, will not stop until we understand the reasons behind this senseless incident, and take any available action that we need to do.” He continued: “Sixteen deceased persons is obviously a great tragedy for this state.

“Our thoughts, prayers and love go out to all of the families of the deceased.

“We pray that those who are injured recover quickly.” He added: “I have two police officers currently in hospital. At the moment, both are in a critical but stable condition, and again, the thoughts of the New South Wales Police are very much with those officers and their families.”

Witness Lachlan Moran, 32, from Melbourne, told the Associated Press: “You heard a few pops, and I freaked out and ran away. 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.”

Anthony Albanese, the Prime Minister of Australia, said the Bondi Beach attack was “an act of evil, antisemitism, terrorism”.

“This is a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith,” he said.

“An act of evil, antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation, an attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian, and every Australian tonight will be like me, devastated on this attack on our way of life.”

Hanukkah, also known as Chanukah, is an eight-day festival of light usually observed in December.