Death toll rises to 16 after terrorist attack at Bondi Beach in Australia
The death toll from a targeted attack near Bondi Beach in Sydney has risen to 16 people, including 15 victims and one perpetrator, according to Australian officials. Dozens of others were injured, with many still hospitalized.
The attack occurred on Saturday night at Bondi Beach, an iconic coastal area in Sydney, according to New South Wales authorities. Officials said the incident took place during a gathering connected to the Jewish community.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said the death toll had risen to 15 and confirmed that a 10-year-old girl was among those killed. He said 42 people were taken to hospitals following the shooting, with victims ranging in age from 10 to 87.
Police said two offenders were involved: a 50-year-old man who died at the scene and his 24-year-old son, who remains in critical but stable condition in a hospital. New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon confirmed the older man was a licensed firearms holder with six registered weapons.
Two police officers were also wounded and remain hospitalized in critical but stable condition, according to Lanyon.
Officials confirmed that two improvised explosive devices were found at the scene and described them as active but rudimentary in design.
Ahmed al Ahmed, 43, has been identified as a civilian who disarmed one of the attackers, according to Australian media. A family member told 7 News Australia that Ahmed was shot twice by a second gunman firing from a bridge and is undergoing surgery.
“This was an attack deliberately targeted at the Jewish community, on the first day of Hannukah,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. “What we saw last night was an act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism, an act of terrorism on our shores.”
Premier Minns said the Jewish community in New South Wales was “devastated this morning” and urged the public to donate blood to support hospitals treating the wounded. He also praised first responders and civilians who assisted victims during the attack.
Lanyon said police have launched a joint counterterrorism operation and are not searching for additional suspects. “We are satisfied that there were two offenders involved in yesterday’s incident,” he said, adding that investigators are still working to determine the motive.
The shooting is Australia’s deadliest mass-casualty attack since 1996, when a gunman killed 35 people in the Port Arthur massacre, which led to sweeping national gun law reforms.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
