Haunting reminders of an afternoon at the beach that turned to tragedy

2 months ago 6

Follow our live coverage of the Bondi shooting here.

Personal items such as shoes, thongs and children’s toys, discarded as beachgoers fled for their lives when two gunmen opened fire on a Jewish festival on Sunday night, have been lined up on the concrete at the beach in Bondi for the shell-shocked community to collect.

Hundreds of residents visited the site of the massacre on Monday, coming to lay flowers, hold hands, hug and process the terror event that has sent shockwaves across the globe.

Some of the items discarded as beachgoers fled for their lives.

Many who arrived were still in shock, struggling to understand the carnage that unfolded as people attended the event celebrating the first day of Hanukkah.

Much of the beachside is still an active crime scene, with forensic teams scouring the area to collect bullet casings and document the gunmen’s movements. Until the early hours of Monday morning, bodies still lay where they fell, covered with tents and tarps away from the public’s eye.

There were multiple pairs of Crocs, a child’s pram and a booster car seat. Items were still strewn on the grass at the open-air cinema. In the strong evening winds, umbrellas and fences toppled, adding to the sense of carnage.

Floral tributes outside the Bondi Pavilion.

The Jewish community paying their respects at Bondi.

A memorial was growing at Bondi Pavilion, with dozens of flowers laid. An Australian and an Israeli flag have been strung from the building’s gates. A second, smaller memorial has been set up at the northern edge of the crime scene, with locals laying rocks, called visiting stones, as is custom in the Jewish faith.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese laid flowers early in the morning, stopping briefly to chat with locals.

Alex Ryvchin, the chief executive the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, wrapped black ribbon around his arm at the gates. The ribbon, called Tefillin, contains scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. He was embraced by NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley, who also laid flowers at the site.

Australian Red Cross trauma teddies were handed out to children near the crime scene.

A tight-knit community, many Jewish residents know someone injured or killed in the attack. The chief executive of Jewish House, Rabbi Mendel Kastel, said he lost multiple members of his extended family.

His brother-in-law, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, is one of the confirmed 16 dead, along with an employee of Jewish House. Both had young children. Schlanger’s youngest is just a few months old.

Kastel said he spent Sunday evening travelling between the scene and hospitals, families, attempting to locate the missing or identify those killed.

Kastel said while it was important to allow those who needed support to vent without judgment, he urged the Jewish and broader Australian community to choose love over hate.

“People don’t want to see this kind of behaviour. It’s unacceptable, it’s disgusting, it’s vile. What we want to see is people coming together,” he said.

“We need to hold strong. We can’t let darkness overtake our community.”

Mark Hochstadt, a Paddington resident and son of a Holocaust survivor, catches himself as he attempts to make sense of Sunday’s senseless violence

“We were a lucky country,” the 58-year-old says.

He breaks down in tears as asks why the Jewish community continues to be persecuted in the 21st century.

“We have three metre high fences around schools and security guards outside synagogues. Who lives like this?,” he asks.

Nearby, flags outside North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club are flying at half-mast in honour of the scores murdered just metres away.

The owners of Depot cafe are giving out free coffee to support the community. “We just wanted to give people a place to chat and reflect and talk to each other,” owner Johnny Kelly said.

“We’ve been serving the community for 18 years. We’re the place where people have come and met their partner or broken up, and everything else is between, so it’s just important for us to be open to the community.”

Surf Lifesaving Club chief executive Steven Pearce said the 30 volunteers who rushed to administer aid were receiving support. One volunteer performed CPR on three separate victims, all of whom unfortunately died. One woman who went into labour as shots rang out was assisted in the surf lifesaving club. Lifesavers ran out of supplies in their trauma and first-aid kits.