Bondi Beach shooting: What we know so far about the attack on a Hanukkah gathering

The attack took place on Sunday around 6.45 pm at Bondi Beach, a major public destination in Sydney that regularly draws large crowds

A deadly shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney has left Australia reeling after two gunmen opened fire on a crowd gathered for the first day of Hanukkah. Police said at least 15 people were killed and dozens were injured. One of the shooters was also killed during the incident, while the other was wounded and taken into custody, the New York Times reported.

Where and when it happened

The attack took place on Sunday around 6.45 pm at Bondi Beach, a major public destination in Sydney that regularly draws large crowds. The gathering was a Hanukkah event hosted by the Chabad organisation, and hundreds of people were present when the gunfire began.

What witnesses described

People at the beach described hearing rapid, repeated gunshots and scrambling for cover. One witness said she dived under a metal barbecue structure while shots continued, describing the sound of bullets striking metal and the smell of gunpowder. Another witness said the gunshots sounded like fireworks at first, before it became clear it was live fire.

Videos circulating from the scene show people running away from the beach, including some who were in the water at the time.

Who the suspects were

Police said the two shooters were father and son, aged 50 and 24. The older suspect died after being shot by police. The younger suspect was reported to have sustained critical injuries.

Authorities have not released their names. Police said one of the suspects was known to law enforcement, but investigators have not publicly detailed any ideology or motive so far, saying they needed time to establish the facts.

Explosive devices found

Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said officers located and disabled two improvised explosive devices in a nearby vehicle linked to the suspect who died. That discovery intensified concern that the incident could have been planned to cause more harm than the shooting alone.

Victims identified so far

Officials said victims ranged in age from 10 to 87. As next of kin were notified, some names began to emerge. Chabad identified one victim as Rabbi Eli Schlanger, described as an assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi and a community chaplain. Chabad also named Reuven Morrison and Alex Kleytman, a Holocaust survivor who attended with family. France’s President Emmanuel Macron said that a French citizen, Dan Elkayam, was among the dead.

Official response and wider context

Australian leaders and police described the shooting as a targeted attack on Jewish Australians and referred to it as terrorism. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said an attack on Jewish Australians was an attack on all Australians.

Mass shootings are rare in Australia, in part because of strict gun laws introduced after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, including bans on many semiautomatic weapons, tighter licensing and registration, and large-scale buybacks.

Investigators are continuing to piece together how the attack was planned, how the weapons were obtained, and whether any wider support network existed.