At least 12 dead in terror attack at Bondi Beach after mass shooting

Late on Sunday night, one of the alleged gunmen was identified as western Sydney bricklayer Naveed Akram, 24.

Several improvised explosive devices were also removed by bomb disposal experts from a car parked on Campbell Parade at Bondi Beach which was linked to the deceased gunman. The police operation extended to a street in the western Sydney suburb of Bonnyrigg where two people were arrested in connection to the Bondi shootings late on Sunday night.

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Earlier in the evening, people at Bondi reported hearing up to 50 gunshots while footage taken by a local showed a gunman, dressed in a dark top and white pants, repeatedly opening fire at the beach. He appeared to pause briefly to reload his rifle as people can be heard screaming.

Footage also showed a bystander wrestling a rifle off an alleged gunman in a moment of bravery that may have saved lives.

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 hero bystander who since been identified by Seven News as 43-year-old father of two Ahmed el Ahmed.

A 30-year-old local, Harry Wilson, witnessed the shooting, saying he “saw at least 10 people on the ground and blood everywhere”.

Naveed Akram has been identified as one of the alleged gunmen.

A shooting victim, who suffered an injury to the leg, said he barricaded himself in the North Bondi surf club with many others. He said he heard dozens of “popping noises” as people jumped security fencing and ran for cover.

One man, who wanted to be known only as B, was at the beach when he heard dozens of gunshots ringing out and saw people were running and screaming.

He ran to help, and saw two young children, aged around five or six, hiding under a car. “They said, ‘my mum, my mum’,” he said.

First responders and bystanders tend to victims at Bondi Beach.Credit: Janie Barrett

Bystanders render assistance to a man at Bondi Beach on Sunday evening.Credit: Edwina Pickles

He pulled their mother from beneath the car and realised she had been shot twice, in the back of the neck and in her shoulder.

“I had to apply pressure for about 20 minutes,” he said. “Big wounds. I had my fingers in the hole, I applied the pressure. Then paramedics took over. It was like war zone.”

Another man, who wanted to be known only as Abdulla, had been driving down Campbell Parade when he saw two men shooting from the bridge to the beach. He drove into the car park.

“That’s when I saw the first [police] officer who was shot, I ran out and tried to help him,” he said. The shots were still ringing out, as he saw the other man helping the woman under the car.

A woman near a petting zoo at the beach shielded a five-year-old girl who had been separated from her parents.

The woman had been separated from her husband and daughter soon after the shooting started. “I was just making sure my husband and daughter were OK,” she said.

She said she saw a young boy with a gunshot wound to his leg and four bodies nearby. A man was shot dead next to her husband.

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.

Paramedics rush a victim to an ambulance.Credit: Edwina Pickles

A few metres away another man was patched up for pellet wounds.

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.”

Independent federal MP for Wentworth Allegra Spender said the entire community was reeling from the terrorist attack.

Members of the public help emergency services following the mass shooting at Bondi Beach.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone

“This breaks my heart and breaks the hearts of all of us who love our diverse community and treasure the strong community of Jewish Australians who are such a vital part of Wentworth and our nation,” she said.

Minns convened a late-night crisis cabinet meeting to receive briefings and updates from key government agencies as the tragedy unfolds.

The meeting coordinated a rapid response with key ministers and agencies to deal with the deadly event. Minns said the reports and images coming out of Bondi were deeply distressing.

“Our heart bleeds for the Jewish community tonight. I can only imagine the pain that they’re feeling right now to see their loved ones killed as they celebrate this ancient holiday. It’s a responsibility of all Australians to wrap their arms around Australia’s Jewish community,” Minns said.

A shooting victim receives help.Credit: Edwina Pickles

Albanese said the attack on Jewish Australians was an attack on every Australian on a day that was meant for celebration.

“This is a targeted attack on Jewish Australians, a day of joy, a celebration of faith,” he said.

“There is no place for this hate, violence and terrorism in our nation, and let me be clear, we will eradicate it. Amidst this vile act of violence and hate will emerge a moment of national unity.”

At least 12 people were killed in the mass shooting at Bondi Beach on Sunday night. Credit: Janie Barrett

ASIO director-general Mike Burgess said it was investigating the identities of the attackers and to see whether anyone else in the community had similar intents. “It’s important to stress at this point, we have no indications to that fact, but that is something we have active investigations on,” he said.

Burgess confirmed that one of the alleged suspects was known to ASIO and NSW Police but was not deemed an immediate threat. “Obviously, we need to look into what happened here,” he said.

United Nations secretary-general António Guterres has expressed his horror at the events.

“I am horrified and condemn today’s heinous deadly attack on Jewish families gathered in Sydney to celebrate Hanukkah,” he said on his official X account.

“My heart is with the Jewish community worldwide on this first day of Hanukkah, a festival celebrating the miracle of peace and light vanquishing darkness.”

More coverage on the Bondi terror attack

• Watch: Incredible footage shows the moment a hero bystander tackles one of the gunmen
• What we know so far: all the details of the mass shooting
• How the world reacted: Global leaders condemn ‘deeply distressing’ attack

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