Father and son shooters kill 15 at Jewish festival on Australia’s Bondi Beach

A father and son opened fire at a Jewish festival on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing 15 people — including a child — in what authorities on Monday denounced as an antisemitic terrorist attack.

The shooting erupted on Sunday evening as crowds gathered to mark the start of Hanukkah at the popular tourist beach. The attackers fired into the packed area, triggering panic as people fled across the shoreline.

Among the dead was a 10-year-old girl. Forty-two others were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds and other injuries, making it Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in nearly three decades.

Investigators are still piecing together the motive, but officials said the attack was clearly intended to terrorise Australia’s Jewish community.

“What we saw yesterday was an act of pure evil — an act of antisemitism and an act of terrorism on our shores,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday, after laying flowers at the Bondi Pavilion.

More than 1,000 people had gathered for the annual celebration. Witnesses said the gunmen opened fire from a raised boardwalk overlooking the beach, which was crowded with swimmers on a hot summer evening.

Armed with long-barrelled weapons, the pair fired for about 10 minutes before police shot dead the 50-year-old father. His 24-year-old son was arrested and remains under police guard in hospital with serious injuries.

Rabbi Mendel Kastel said his brother-in-law was among those killed. “It’s unbelievable this happened in Australia,” he said. “This is not the Australia we know or want.”

Police have declined to discuss the attackers’ religious background or ideological influences, citing the ongoing investigation. “We want to fully understand the motives behind this,” said New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon.

Hours after the shooting, officers discovered a homemade bomb in a car parked near the beach, which they believe had been planted by the attackers.

Panic and heroism

As gunfire rang out, several bystanders ran toward the danger to help. Footage showed a man identified by local media as fruit seller Ahmed al Ahmed grappling with one of the attackers and knocking the weapon from his hands.

Off-duty lifeguards also rushed onto the sand, pulling children from a playground and administering first aid under fire. “They ran out to clear children while shots were still being fired,” said Steven Pearce of Surf Life Saving New South Wales.

Victims were carried across the beach on surfboards used as makeshift stretchers. Others hid for hours in nearby shops as the scale of the attack became clear.

By Monday, personal belongings left behind during the stampede — shoes, blankets and flasks — were scattered across the area, while flags nationwide were lowered to half-mast in mourning.

International reaction

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Australia’s government of failing to curb rising antisemitism, while leaders around the world condemned the attack. US President Donald Trump described it as a “purely antisemitic” act.

The shooting comes amid heightened concern within Australia’s Jewish community following a series of antisemitic incidents since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.