Mourners gathered in Sydney on Wednesday for the first funerals for some of the 15 people killed in Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in nearly 30 years.
There were emotional scenes outside Sydney’s Bondi Chabad as a large crowd paid their respects ahead of a service for Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who was killed in Sunday’s massacre of Jewish families celebrating the first night of Hanukkah.
Schlanger’s family wept as Schlanger’s coffin, wrapped in black velor, was carried into the synagogue.
Mr Schlanger, 41, organized the “Hanukkah by the Sea” event on Bondi Beach and was an assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi. He is the father of five children, the youngest of whom is only two months old.
Schlanger, known as “Rabbi Bondi,” was a dedicated and beloved pastor who worked tirelessly to “support Jewish life in the Bondi community” through Chabad, a global Jewish organization that seeks to promote Jewish identity and connection, the organization said.
During the service, Schlanger’s father-in-law broke down in tears, calling him “the best husband, best father, best son.”
“What I say today will be an understatement of what you mean to you, your families, and me personally,” Rabbi Yehoram Ullman said. “You are my son, my friend, and my confidant.”
“A day without you is impossible.”
The funeral came amid a massive outpouring of grief and support as Sydneysiders laid flowers and lit candles at the Bondi Pavilion, next to the world-famous beach where Sunday’s massacre took place.
Australian authorities have said the suspected attackers, a father and son duo, were motivated by “Islamic State ideology,” and Australian counterterrorism officials believe they received military training while in the southern Philippines, known for Islamic extremism, last month, public broadcaster ABC reported on Tuesday.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Runyon told a local Australian radio station that the young suspect, Naveed Akram, had woken up from a coma on Tuesday and that police expected to charge him later on Wednesday, the ABC reported.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
