Police confirm alleged Bondi shooters were father and son
NSW police commissioner Mal Lanyon confirms the two offenders – a 50-year-old man and 24-year-old man – were father and son.
The father was shot dead by police, while the son is in critical but stable condition in hospital.
Lanyon says police are not looking for a further offender.
As part of the investigation, we conducted two search warrants last night, one at Bonnyrigg and a second at Campsie. The 50-year-old male is a licensed firearms holder. He has six firearms licensed to him.
Updated at 15.44 EST
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Police won’t yet confirm any motivations behind the attack, and say that they’re looking at that as part of the investigation.
Police commissioner Mal Lanyon also says there was “no indication to indicate that either of the men involved in yesterday’s attack was planning the attack that happened yesterday.”
He confirms that the 50-year-old shooter has been deceased, and had held a gun license for ten years.
Lanyon also says that there was “very limited knowledge” of the younger man who authorities have said was known to Asio, Australia’s spy agency.
We have investigators working around the clock. I’m incredibly proud of the work undertaken so far. We want to understand the motives behind it. We certainly want to understand the actions that have happened. I cannot give a running commentary on the investigation …
They were staying at an address in Campsie. Their residence is in Bonnyrigg.
NSW Ambulance commissioner, Dominic Morgan, says more than 123 personnel from the NSW Ambulance were part of last night’s response. The first ambulance crews were on the scene in less than ten minutes he says.
He says there were some “amazing lessons” learned from the Bondi Westfield shopping centre attack, which helped emergency services respond effectively last night.
There was some amazing lessons learned from the Bondi Westfield shopping centre. Last night, I’m told the command structures were seamless. The joint agency approach, the ability for paramedics with the support of police to work in these hot zones. I’m convinced contributed to the saving of lives that otherwise would have been lost.
Police will be ‘highly visible’ at Jewish places of worship
Lanyon says police have commenced “Operation Shelter” this morning, and there will be 328 officers on the ground at Bondi this morning.
The police commissioner says police will be “highly visible” at places of worship and other places that are known to be frequented by the Jewish community.
Lanyon also urges the public to remain calm.
Operation Shelter is designed to provide comfort to the Jewish community. We’ll make sure we’re highly visible at places of worship, places that are known to be frequented by the Jewish community, but very much in those suburbs we know we have a large Jewish population. I want to make it very clear the New South Wales police will not tolerate the types of violence or the types of antisemitic behaviour we have seen …
I was very clear last night to call for calm. This is not a time for anyone to be seeking retribution. This is a time for the community to grieve and to heal.
Updated at 15.37 EST
Police confirm alleged Bondi shooters were father and son
NSW police commissioner Mal Lanyon confirms the two offenders – a 50-year-old man and 24-year-old man – were father and son.
The father was shot dead by police, while the son is in critical but stable condition in hospital.
Lanyon says police are not looking for a further offender.
As part of the investigation, we conducted two search warrants last night, one at Bonnyrigg and a second at Campsie. The 50-year-old male is a licensed firearms holder. He has six firearms licensed to him.
Updated at 15.44 EST
Anthony Albanese says Bondi attack was ‘act of pure evil’
Minns thanks the emergency service workers and innocent bystanders and civilians who stood up to “save other peoples’ lives”.
This is a terrible wanton act of destructive violence but we still have amazing people in Australia and they showed their true colours last night.
Anthony Albanese stands up next and describes the terror attack as an “act of pure evil”, and promises to dedicate “every single resource” to respond.
What we saw yesterday was an act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism, an act of terrorism on our shores. In iconic Australian location. That’s associated with joy, associated with families gathering, associated with celebrations.
We will do whatever is necessary to stamp out antisemitism. It is a scourge and we’ll eradicate it together. The Australian Federal Police and Asio are working closely with New South Wales authorities and the briefing we’ve just had, we’ve had the AFP there and the AFP commissioner will return to Australia today. We’ll dedicate every single resource that is required in responding to this.
Albanese says world leaders including Donald Trump, French president Emmanuel Macron and UK prime minister Keir Starmer have reached out to him to express their sympathies.
Updated at 15.32 EST
Minns says 42 people in Sydney hospitals overnight after shooting
Chris Minns is speaking to the media this morning, alongside prime minister Anthony Albanese, and NSW police commissioner Mal Lanyon.
The NSW premier says 16 have been killed, including one of the gunmen, with 42 people in hospitals across Sydney overnight.
He says there must be a “strong and clear repudiation of antisemitism”.
Obviously the Jewish community in New South Wales are absolutely devastated this morning, it’s our responsibility to wrap our arms around that wounded community, and let them know that ordinary Australians, regular Australians, are in their corner … We need to send a strong and clear repudiation of antisemitism in all of its forms. All of its forms. There’s no tolerance for racism or Jewish hatred in NSW or Australia.
Minns says Australians wanting to help should give blood if they can.
If you’re looking for something practical to do, you could give blood. We saw extraordinary scenes from New South Wales public hospitals last night, emergency departments at the drop of a hat were in the process of saving scores of lives. They did an incredible job but they need your help. They need blood and if you’re thinking about doing an act of public service in the coming 24 hours, I urge you to contact the Red Cross and do that piece of public-mindedness.
Updated at 15.29 EST
Wiping away tears the morning after a night of devastation
The park where Sunday’s Hanukah gathering was held is cordoned off by police tape on Monday morning. Access is closed from the surf lifesaving club at the north end of the beach. Officers stand by the tape.
Dozens of cars have been left in place. Runners and beachgoers have been arriving since sunrise, walking hundreds of metres along the shore, only able to leave the beach by the northernmost exit or those south of the cordoned off Pavilion.
Some head straight to the surf. Others stop moving as they near the shore and look at the signs of last night’s devastation: police tape and cars, personal items strewn everywhere.
One couple, out for a morning walk and holding coffees, wipe tears from their eyes as they turn away.
On the beach, towels, bottles and bags left by fleeing visitors are starting to be covered in sand after being left by the shore for 12 hours.
Bondi beach at sunrise on Monday morning. Photograph: Luca Ittimani/The GuardianPolice say they have established a ‘significant crime scene’ at Bondi beach. Photograph: Luca Ittimani/The GuardianShare
Updated at 15.33 EST
Benita Kolovos
Holocaust survivor among victims
Alexander Kleytman was also among those killed, his wife Larisa Kleytman told reporters outside St Vincent’s hospital overnight.
The couple were both Holocaust survivors, and had recounted their experiences to JewishCare in 2023:
As children, both Larisa and Alexander faced the unspeakable terror of the Holocaust. Alex’s memories are particularly harrowing; the dreadful conditions in Siberia where he, along with his mother and younger brother, struggled for survival. The scars of the past, however, did not deter them from seeking a brighter future. They later made the move to Australia, immigrating from Ukraine.
Updated at 15.19 EST
Bondi after the shooting
We have some more pictures from Bondi Beach this morning, where police have established a crime scene.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, NSW premier Chris Minns and NSW police will soon speak in a press conference.
Police patrol in the early morning following a shooting on Sunday at Sydney’s Bondi each, Monday. Photograph: Mark Baker/APDiscarded beach equipment on Bondi Beach at first light after a shooting at Bondi Beach, in Sydney. Photograph: Dean Lewins/EPAAn Australian flag flies at half mast on Bondi Pavilion on Bondi Beach. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAPShare
Updated at 15.19 EST
Luca Ittimani
Bondi after the shooting: ‘devastated’
A man wearing white clothes and a blue kippa lights a lone candle behind the lifeguard post, next to the police cordon.
As he walks away, he is heard saying one word: “devastated”.
Police have cordoned off the area in front of the Bondi Pavilion. Six officers stand at the edge of the line, overlooking the shore.
Adjoining the pavilion is a fenced-off area where sunset film screenings would be held. Yesterday was scheduled to show The Holiday. Bags, shoes and food lay strewn alongside deck chairs and beanbags.
Police tape also marks the southern footbridge. People continue to walk through, some pausing as they look out over the beach.
Bondi Beach at sunrise following terrorist attack. NSW, Australia. Photograph: Luca Ittimani/The GuardianShare
Updated at 15.18 EST
Benita Kolovos
Bonnyrigg mosque says Bondi shooting ‘an affront to human dignity’
As police search homes of suspects in Bonnyrigg in Sydney’s south-west, the Bonnyrigg Turkish Islamic and Cultural Association has released a statement on behalf of the local mosque.
The statement unequivocally condemns “the violent and senseless attack at Bondi Beach”:
Such acts against innocent people are an affront to human dignity and violate the core values that underpin Australian society. We extend our sincere condolences to the victims, their families, and the wider community. Violence driven by hatred – be it racial, religious or ideological – has no place in Australia and must be rejected fully.
The Bonnyrigg mosque said it stood with affected communities and “all Australians shaken by this incident”:
No community should live in fear, nor should any faith be blamed for an individual’s actions. We reaffirm our readiness to work alongside community leaders, authorities and faith groups to promote understanding, reject extremism and strengthen our nation’s unity. Australia’s true strength lies in our unity. We will not let violence or misinformation divide us.
Updated at 15.15 EST
Bondi shooting ‘resonates very closely’ with Australian Muslims
Bilal Rauf, from the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC) has told ABC News Breakfast the terror attack “resonates very closely” with the Australian Muslim community after the Christchurch massacre.
He says there has been widespread shock and anguish from all the community representatives he’s engaged with, and that everyone must stand in solidarity with the Jewish community.
As we know, the people that perpetrate these horrific crimes, they have one objective and that is to divide, that is to tear us apart, and create suspicion and division and that’s precisely what we must guard against. We stand as Australians, we stand with each other and when one community suffers, as the Jewish community is, we all suffer. It’s an attack against all of us.
Asked about whether he is concerned about the impact the shooting will have on the fabric of Australian society, Rauf says it “comes back to us … how we engage, how we respond, the language we use, the narratives we use and what support we give, and projecting an image where we are standing side by side”.
Updated at 15.07 EST
Benita Kolovos
French national confirmed to be among those killed in Bondi shooting
French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, has confirmed French man Dan Elkayam is among those killed in the shooting.
In a translated post from X, Barrot said France mourned with his family and loved ones, with the Jewish community and the Australian people:
This low act is a new, tragic manifestation of a revolting outpouring of antisemitic hatred that we must put a stop to.
France will spare no effort to eradicate antisemitism wherever it is emerges, and to combat antisemitism in all its forms.
The lights of Hanukah must not be extinguished and they will not be.
The president, Emmanuel Macron, said his thoughts were with Elkayam’s family and their loved ones and expressed to them “the fullest solidarity of the nation”.
Updated at 15.03 EST
Josh Butler
Bondi shooting ‘all too predictable’, Josh Frydenberg says
Former Liberal treasurer Josh Frydenberg has posted a scathing message about the Bondi shooting on social media, claiming Australian leaders had given “little more than hollow words” in response to antisemitism.
Frydenberg, who is Jewish, called the Hanukah shooting “a tragedy of unimaginable proportions” and claimed “Australia will never be the same” – demanding that “everything must now change”. Frydenberg wrote on X:
Every Australian has been attacked by this evil and hateful act of violence. It was all too predictable and so many of us said so. The director general of our national security and intelligence agency Asio even rang the alarm bell himself, warning that the dangerous rise in antisemitism was his ‘number one priority’ in terms of threats to life. Why didn’t our leaders listen and why didn’t they act? …
In response we got little more than hollow words from our leaders as they stood by and watched the flames of hate burn. The prime minister’s public pledge after 7 October that he would not let antisemitism ‘find so much as a foothold here’ in Australia, is now fully exposed for the failure it has been. The fact is Australia is no longer safe for Jews.
Everything must now change from here. Everything must be on the table. The law must be enforced. Those who spew hate must no longer be tolerated. We cannot as a country continue as we have done. Our leaders must now finally stand up, accept responsibility for what has happened on their watch and close this shameful chapter in our nation’s history.
Updated at 15.00 EST
Josh Butler
More horrified reactions to the Bondi shooting are coming from world leaders
Israeli president Isaac Herzog said in a video message posted online that: “vile terrorists deliberately targeted innocent Jewish families celebrating the first night of Hanukah. They [Jewish families] wanted to light a big light.”
The people of Israel stand together with all of you in this very dark and difficult moment… the Jewish people are strong, resilient and united, and our message is clear: the Hanukah lights must go on and will b e lit all over the world, especially in Bondi beach, in Sydney and all over Australia.
United Nations secretary general António Guterres wrote on X: “I am horrified and condemn today’s heinous deadly attack on Jewish families gathered in Sydney to celebrate Hanukah.”
My heart is with the Jewish community worldwide on this first day of Hanukah, a festival celebrating the miracle of peace and light vanquishing darkness.
American secretary of state Marco Rubio said the United States “strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Australia targeting a Jewish celebration.”
Antisemitism has no place in this world. Our prayers are with the victims of this horrific attack, the Jewish community, and the people of Australia.
Updated at 14.57 EST