A man has been charged with 59 offences, including a terror charge, in connection with the gun attack on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, in which 15 people were killed.
It comes as the first funerals for the victims began and the the leader of New South Wales, where the attack took place, saying he will recall parliament next week to pass wide-ranging reforms of gun and protest laws.
The alleged father-and-son perpetrators opened fire on a Jewish Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach on Sunday.
New South Wales premier Chris Minns told a news conference parliament would return on 22 December to hear “urgent” reforms, including capping the number of firearms allowed by a single person and making certain types of shotguns harder to access.
The state government will also look at reforms making it harder to hold large street protests after terror events, in order to prevent further tensions.
“We’ve got a monumental task in front of us. It’s huge,” he said.
Floral tributes left by mourners are seen at the promenade of Bondi Beach
“It’s a huge responsibility to pull the community together. I think we need a summer of calm and togetherness, not division.”
Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police at the scene, while his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram was shot and injured by police.
Anthony Albanese has faced criticism over his government’s response to extremism
The men accused of carrying out the attack had travelled to the southern Philippines weeks before the shooting that Australian police said appeared to be inspired by the so-called Islamic State.
Funerals for Jewish victims begin
The funeral for Rabbi Eli Schlanger, an assistant rabbi at Chabad Bondi Synagogue and a father of five, took place in Sydney.
He was known for his work for Sydney’s Jewish community through Chabad, a global organisation fostering Jewish identity and connection.
Rabbi Schlanger would travel to prisons and meet with Jewish people living in Sydney’s public housing communities, Jewish leader Alex Ryvchin said.
A mourner weeps as he follows the hearse carrying the coffin of Rabbi Eli Schlanger
Other shooting victims included a Holocaust survivor, a husband and wife who first approached the gunmen before they started firing, and a 10-year-old girl named Matilda, according to interviews, officials and media reports.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is facing criticism that his centre-left government did not do enough to prevent the spread of anti-Semitism in Australia during the two-year Israel-Gaza war.
“We will work with the Jewish community, we want to stamp out and eradicate anti-Semitism from our society,” Mr Albanese told reporters.
The government and intelligence services are also under pressure to explain why Sajid Akram was allowed to legally acquire the high-powered rifles and shotguns used in the attack.
The government has already promised sweeping reforms to gun laws.
Naveed Akram, meanwhile, was briefly investigated by Australia’s domestic intelligence agency in 2019 over alleged links to Islamic State, but there was no evidence at the time he posed a threat, Mr Albanese said.
Hero to undergo surgery
Mr Albanese said Ahmed al-Ahmed, 43, the man who tackled one of the shooters to disarm his rifle and suffered gunshot wounds, was due to undergo surgery.
Mr Al-Ahmed’s uncle, Mohammed al-Ahmed in Syria, said his nephew left his hometown in Syria’s northwest province of Idlib nearly 20 years ago to seek work in Australia.
“We learned through social media. I called his father and he told me that it was Ahmed. Ahmed is a hero, we’re proud of him. Syria in general is proud of him,” he said.
Ahmed al-Ahmed, pictured with Chris Minns, remains in a Sydney hospital with gunshot wounds
The family of 22-year-old police officer Jack Hibbert, who was shot twice on Sunday and had been on the force for just four months, said in a statement he had lost vision in one eye and faced a “long and challenging recovery” ahead.
“In the face of a violent and tragic incident, he responded with courage, instinct, and selflessness, continuing to protect and help others whilst injured, until he was physically no longer able to,” the family said.
Health authorities said 22 people were still being treated in hospital.
Other shooting victims included a Holocaust survivor, a husband and wife who first approached the gunmen before they started firing, and a 10-year-old girl named Matilda, according to interviews, officials and media reports.