Two gunmen opened fire on a crowd gathered for a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney's Bondi Beach on Sunday evening, killing 15 people and wounding at least 40 others in what Australian authorities have declared a terrorist attack targeting the country's Jewish community.

The assault on the "Chanukah by the Sea" event is the deadliest mass shooting in Australia since 1996, when a lone gunman killed 35 people at Port Arthur in Tasmania. That massacre prompted the country to enact some of the world's strictest gun control laws, including bans on semi-automatic rifles and stringent registration and purchasing requirements.

Police were called to Archer Park at Bondi Beach at approximately 6:47pm local time on Sunday after reports of shots being fired. More than 1,000 people had gathered on the popular beach to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah when the attack began.

Video footage that spread across social media showed two gunmen appearing to open fire from a small footbridge overlooking the beach. Other clips captured crowds in bathing suits fleeing the water as shots rang out. The gunfire continued for approximately 10 minutes before police and a civilian intervened.

The attackers

New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said the gunmen were a father and son. The father, 50 years old, was shot and killed by police at the scene. The son, identified as 24-year-old Naveed Akram, was critically wounded and is hospitalized.

The elder attacker held a firearms license for 10 years and owned six registered weapons, police said. Authorities executed two search warrants and retrieved the firearms.

Mike Burgess, head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, said one of the individuals was known to the agency but "not in an immediate-threat perspective."

"We need to look into what happened here," Burgess said.

Police also found two improvised explosive devices near the footbridge from which the shooters fired. Lanyon described them as "basic" and said they were "active" but had not been detonated. The devices were removed in an armored vehicle and rendered safe by the police bomb disposal unit.

Lanyon declined to comment on reports of a black Islamic State flag at the scene, saying investigators would examine motives as part of the ongoing inquiry. Police have ruled out the involvement of a third person.

Bystander tackles gunman

Video verified by multiple news outlets showed a bystander sneaking up behind one of the attackers, wrestling him to the ground and seizing his weapon.

The man has been identified as Ahmed al Ahmed, a 43-year-old fruit shop owner. He was shot twice during the confrontation—once in the arm and once in the hand—and required surgery.

"He is a hero, 100 percent he is a hero," his cousin Mustafa told reporters outside the hospital.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns called the footage "unbelievable" and said al Ahmed was a "genuine hero."

"I've got no doubt there are many, many people alive tonight as a result of his bravery," Minns said.

President Donald Trump also praised the intervention during remarks condemning the attack. "It's been a very, very brave person, actually, who went and attacked frontally one of the shooters and saved a lot of lives," Trump said.

Victims and casualties

The 16 fatalities include one of the gunmen. Victims range in age from 10 to 87 years old, according to New South Wales police. Among those killed are a 10-year-old girl and Rabbi Eli Schlanger, an assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi who helped organize the event.

Jewish News reported that Schlanger was born in London. Israel's foreign ministry confirmed that an Israeli citizen was also among the dead.

At least 40 people remain hospitalized, including three children. Five are in critical condition, with the others listed as serious or stable. Two police officers who responded to the scene sustained gunshot wounds and are in critical but stable condition.

New South Wales Ambulance Commissioner Dominic Morgan said 123 paramedics responded to the attack, with the first arriving within 10 minutes.

Political response and investigation

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the shooting a "targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith."

"An act of evil, antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation," Albanese said. "An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian."

Flags across Australia will fly at half-mast to honor the victims.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the attack on behalf of the United States. "Antisemitism has no place in this world," Rubio said. "Our prayers are with the victims of this horrific attack, the Jewish community, and the people of Australia."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used the attack to criticize Australia's policies, including its recognition of a Palestinian state.

"Antisemitism is a cancer. It spreads when leaders stay silent," Netanyahu said, according to Israeli media. "You must replace weakness with action."

Netanyahu said he had written to Albanese in August warning that Australia's move to recognize a Palestinian state encouraged "Jew hatred." Australia and other Western nations recognized a State of Palestine in September.

"Your government did nothing to stop the spread of antisemitism in Australia," Netanyahu said. "You took no action. You let the disease spread and the result is the horrific attacks on Jews we saw today."

Australia is home to approximately 117,000 Jews. Like other nations, Australia has experienced a sharp increase in antisemitic incidents since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent Israeli military operation in Gaza. Government figures show antisemitic incidents—including assaults, vandalism, threats and intimidation—have more than tripled since then.

Police Commissioner Lanyon announced that 328 officers would be deployed as part of "Operation Shelter" to protect Jewish community sites across New South Wales.

"We'll make sure we're highly visible at places of worship, places that are known to be frequented by the Jewish community," Lanyon said. "I want to make it very clear that the New South Wales Police will not tolerate the types of violence or the types of antisemitic behavior we have seen."

In the United States, authorities in New York, Los Angeles and Miami Beach announced increased patrols near synagogues, Jewish schools and Hanukkah events. New York Mayor Eric Adams said there were no specific threats but that additional officers would be deployed out of caution.