Father-and-son gunmen opened fire on a Jewish festival at Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach on Sunday evening, killing 15 people and wounding many more.
Here’s what we know about one of Australia’s deadliest mass shootings.
– Gunfire at Bondi –
Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed, 24, used long-barrelled guns to fire on Jewish crowds packing Bondi Beach for Hanukkah on Sunday evening.
Authorities said they deliberately targeted a busy Hanukkah event, which drew around 1,000 people to the famous surf spot.
– Toll –
Among the 15 killed were a 10-year-old girl, two Holocaust survivors and a married couple shot dead as they tried to thwart the attack.
Forty-two people were hospitalised in the immediate aftermath, including two police officers who engaged in a shootout with the attackers.
Sajid Akram was shot and killed by police at the scene.
Naveed Akram was also shot and remained in hospital under police guard.
He woke from a coma on Tuesday night, local media reported.
– Funerals –
Australia held the first funerals for the 15 victims on Wednesday.
Father-of-five Eli Schlanger, known as the “Bondi rabbi”, was the first person mourned with a service at Chabad of Bondi Synagogue.
The Chabad of Bondi said a second funeral would be held for 39-year-old rabbi Yaakov Levitan in a city synagogue in the afternoon.
– The gunmen –
Father Sajid Akram was an Indian national who had lived in Australia for decades.
Son Naveed was reportedly an unemployed bricklayer and held an Australian passport.
Naveed came to the attention of Australia’s intelligence agency in 2019 but was not considered an imminent threat at the time.
The pair travelled to the southern Philippines in the weeks before their attack.
Australian authorities are investigating whether they met with Islamist extremists during the trip.
Two homemade Islamic State flags were found in a car registered to Naveed and parked near the beach.
“It would appear that this was motivated by Islamic State ideology,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday.
– ‘Terrorism’ –
The attack was declared a terrorist incident on Sunday evening by New South Wales Premier Chris Minns.
As a result, federal and state police launched a joint counter-terrorism operation.
Authorities described the attack as “antisemitic” and said it was clearly designed to target the city’s Jewish population.
– Response –
Albanese convened a meeting of leaders of Australia’s states and territories in response to the attack on Monday, agreeing with them “to strengthen gun laws across the nation”.
Albanese’s office said they agreed to explore ways to improve background checks for firearm owners, bar non-nationals from obtaining gun licenses and limit the types of weapons that are legal.
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