sydney, australia
—
At least 15 people were killed Sunday in a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community celebrating the first night of Hanukkah at Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach.
About 1,000 people had gathered in a grassy area at Archer Park, but at least two gunmen opened fire at 6:47 p.m. local time, sending panicked crowds running in all directions.
The suspects in the mass shooting at Australia’s Bondi Beach were a father and son, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Runyon said at a press conference Monday morning.
The two were later identified by Australian media as 50-year-old Sajid Akram and his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram. The young man is in serious but stable condition in hospital, while his father, who died at the scene, emigrated to Australia in 1998 and was born there.
It was the deadliest mass shooting in Australia since the massacre nearly 30 years ago, when the country introduced some of the strictest gun laws in the world.
Here’s what we know:
At least 15 people were killed when the gunman opened fire less than two hours into the Hanukkah event, which was scheduled to begin at 5pm local time. The shooting victims included a 10-year-old girl, a rabbi, a Holocaust survivor, and a young Frenchman.
Matilda, a 10-year-old girl with a “smiling, kind and happy face,” was injured in the shooting and was rushed to hospital, her aunt said, but doctors were unable to save her.
Another victim, Alex Kleitman, a Holocaust survivor, died protecting his wife Larissa from gunfire, according to the Jewish group Chabad.
Chabad said Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, who organized the event and served as assistant rabbi at Chabad in Bondi, and Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, executive director of Beth Din in Sydney, were also killed. The group also identified Melbourne resident and Soviet-born Reuben Morrison as one of the victims who died.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced that a young French national named Dan Elkayam was also killed.
The event was advertised as offering “live entertainment, music, games and fun” for all ages. Witnesses remember seeing families gathering on the lawns, beachgoers gathering, and people dancing and playing drums.
NSW Police said emergency services were called to Campbell Parade, a road along Bondi Beach, just before 7pm after reports of shots fired. Hundreds of residents and tourists fled the gunfire, many hurriedly throwing off their shoes.
Belinda Clemens was sitting on a rock near Bondi’s north side when she heard gunshots. “It sounded like fireworks, but it was kind of obvious that it was gunfire because people were running in either direction,” Clemens told CNN.
CNN features writer Amy Gunia had just arrived in Sydney from Hong Kong for a family vacation with her husband, toddler and baby. Her family had just finished an early dinner in North Bondi and were walking back south past the Bondi Pavilion when they heard a “cracking” sound.
“I thought maybe it was fireworks or some sort of celebration, so I turned around,” Gunia said. “I had two children in a stroller and I saw people running near the pavilion. I panicked very quickly.”
“There was disbelief that something like this could happen in Australia.”
Twenty-seven people injured in the shooting were being treated in hospitals across Sydney, according to Monday’s update from the New South Wales Department of Health.
The figure is lower than NSW Premier Chris Ming’s previous update, which said 38 people were being treated in hospital.
NSW Police previously said children and families were involved in the event. The NSW Premier said the victims ranged in age from 10 to 87.
The bystander who snatched the gun from one of the attackers during the shooting was identified as Ahmed Al-Ahmed, 43, whose parents were refugees and had just arrived from Syria, Australian officials and media said.
Dramatic footage of the crash, which has been viewed millions of times on social media, showed Ahmed crouching behind the car and jumping towards the gunman, who had just opened fire.
According to CNN affiliate 7 News, Ahmed was shot and injured by one of the gunmen and was taken to a hospital where he remains hospitalized.
His actions were praised by Australian authorities.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said: “That man is a true hero. I have no doubt that many people will be alive tonight because of his bravery.”
Police have set up an exclusion zone around a car found parked on Campbell Parade, which is believed to have been fitted with “several improvised explosive devices”.
A rescue bomb squad cleared the vehicle, and police later confirmed that the IED had been removed.
Runyon said at a news conference Monday morning that police had seized six weapons belonging to suspect Sajid Akram, but he did not name the suspect. Mr Runyon added that the gunman had held a firearms license for “approximately 10 years” and had “no incidents” during that time.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced plans late Monday to tighten already strict gun laws with new measures to restrict who can get licenses.
President Albanon convened the National Security Council on Sunday night and condemned the attack.
“This was a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should be a day of joy and a celebration of faith and faith, and an evil act of anti-Semitism and terrorism that struck at the heart of our nation,” Mr Albanese said in public.
Albanonians have been accused by the Jewish community and political opponents of not doing enough to address rising anti-Semitism.
After the October 7, 2023 attacks, anti-Semitism rates soared in Australia as Israel waged war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In addition to a special envoy to combat Islamophobia, the government has appointed a special envoy to combat anti-Semitism, Gillian Segal.
Earlier this month, the Australian Jewish Executive Council, the peak body representing 200 Jewish organizations, released a report saying the number of anti-Semitic incidents remained at “unprecedented high levels”.
In 2025, 1,654 anti-Semitic attacks were reported, a 19% decrease from the 2,062 recorded in 2024. According to ECAJ, most incidents in 2025 involved verbal abuse, followed by graffiti attacks.
Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) director-general Mike Burgess said on Sunday Australia’s threat level remained “probable”.
“Possible means there is a 50 per cent chance that an act of terrorism will take place, and unfortunately we witnessed that horrific act take place tonight in Australia,” he said.
Australian authorities said on Monday that the young suspected gunman, Naveed Akram, had come to the attention of authorities but was not considered a threat, without directly naming the suspect.
Jewish leaders had warned of communal hatred expressed in graffiti and arson on synagogues and other places where the Jewish community gathers.
In a statement posted to X, the Australian Jewish Federation said the tragic attack was “completely foreseeable”.
“Despite multiple warnings, the Albanon government failed to take appropriate action to protect the Jewish community,” the group said. “Tonight, many Jews are wondering whether they have a future in Australia.”
The Jewish Council of Australia said its members were left “horrified and shaken” by the attack.
“Many in our community have just received the worst news of their lives,” the group said in a statement.
Cities around the world, including New York City, Berlin and London, beefed up security for Hanukkah events Sunday in the wake of the attacks.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog interrupted a public meeting Sunday morning local time, saying, “Right now, our brothers and sisters in Sydney, Australia, are being attacked by terrorists while they were lighting Hanukkah candles at a Chabad event in Bondi Beach.”
“We have been attacked by despicable terrorists,” he said.
“We have repeatedly warned the Australian government of the urgent need to root out criminals and spread anti-Semitism in Australia,” Mr Herzog added.
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he was horrified and blamed the Australian government.
“This is the result of rampant anti-Semitism on the streets of Australia over the past two years,” Mr Searle said in a post on X.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he was “shocked by the tragic scenes in Bondi” and other leaders around the world expressed their condolences to the families of the victims.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called news of the shooting “deeply disappointing,” and leaders of countries including France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Ukraine, Moldova, Serbia, Estonia and Lithuania also expressed sympathy.
CNN’s Katherine Nichols, Laura Sherman, Tal Shareef, Mostafa Salem and Jesse Yong contributed reporting.
