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At least 10 people are dead and 12 injured, including two police officers, at Sydney’s Bondi Beach after several gunmen opened fire at a packed crowd, forcing hundreds of terrified people to flee.
Just after 6.40pm on Sunday – the first night of the Jewish festival Hanukkah – hundreds of people started running for their lives from the beach as shots were fired.
People frantically apply CPR to victims at Bondi Beach.Credit: Edwina Pickles
NSW Police confirmed at least 10 people were confirmed dead, including a man believed to be one of the shooters, while 16 people were rushed to hospitals across Sydney. First responders were still treating multiple patients at the Bondi Beach shortly after 8.30pm. A second alleged shooter is in a critical condition, police said. Two police officers are among the injured.
Police said a number of suspicious items were located in the vicinity of the shootings and were being examined by specialist officers while an exclusion zone was in place. Police confirmed two people were in custody at Bondi Beach.
Police officers were among those shot, according to multiple police sources not authorised to speak publicly. Their condition is unclear.
A police officer and member of the public help a victim.Credit: Edwina Pickles
People in Bondi reported hearing up to 50 gunshots and people on the ground near Campbell Parade. Unverified footage taken by a local showed a gunman, dressed in a dark top and white pants, repeatedly opening fire at the beach, as sirens wailed in the background. He appeared to pause briefly to reload his rifle as people can be heard screaming.
A 30-year-old local, Harry Wilson, witnessed the shooting, telling this masthead he “saw at least 10 people on the ground and blood everywhere”.
A shooting victim, who suffered an injury to the leg, said he barricaded himself in the North Bondi surf club with dozens of others at the scene. He said he heard dozens of “popping noises” as people jumped security fencing and ran for cover.
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A bystander wrestled a rifle off an alleged gunman in a moment of bravery that may have saved lives, footage from the scene at Bondi Beach shows. One of the gunmen was shooting a rifle from a patch of grass next to the Campbell Parade car park when he was approached by the bystander.
A distraught, black clad rabbi was hugged by another man and wept into the stranger’s arms. “I’m so sorry for your loss. What was her name?”
Behind them a body lay under a white sheet less than 50 meters from the sand, and the bridge where the shooters had opened fire. A man sat on a plastic chair, his feet touching the sheet. Appearing to keep the dead person company.
A few metres away another man was patched up for pellet wounds.
First responders and bystanders tend to victims at Bondi Beach, Credit: Janie Barrett
Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said his community was subjected to a horrific act of violence when they had gathered on the first night of Chanukah.
“This is a day of profound grief. Members of our community have been murdered. Others have been seriously injured. Families are shattered. A sacred moment of light has been turned into darkness,” he said.
“Let me be clear. An attack on Jews celebrating their faith is an attack on Australia itself. It is an assault on our values, our social cohesion, and the basic right of people to gather without fear.”
Bystanders render assistance to a man at Bondi Beach on Sunday evening.Credit: Edwina Pickles
Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin told Sky News that the annual Hanukkah event at Bondi and Dover Heights was packed with families, and if it was a targeted attack on the Jewish community, then it was “our worst fears realised”.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said the reports and images coming out of Bondi were deeply distressing.
“Police and emergency services are responding, and the public should follow official advice,” he said in a statement. “We will update the public as soon as more information becomes available.”
A spokesperson for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government was aware of an “active security situation” at Bondi.
“We urge people in the vicinity to follow information from NSW Police,” the spokesperson said.
Police urged people to avoid the area and had earlier advised anyone at the scene to take shelter.
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