SYDNEY — Australian authorities are confronting a rare episode of mass gun violence that has shaken the nation’s sense of security. A father and son are suspected of carrying out a deadly shooting at a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach, leaving 15 people dead and dozens injured in what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has labeled an act of antisemitic terrorism.
The attack targeted a Jewish community gathering marking the first day of the eight-day holiday festival. Among the victims were a 10-year-old girl, a rabbi, and a Holocaust survivor, highlighting the particularly tragic nature of the assault.
Authorities revealed that the 50-year-old father, who arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa and held resident status, was killed during the incident. His 24-year-old Australian-born son sustained injuries and remains hospitalized under police guard. Investigators are examining suspicious items recovered from the scene, including improvised explosive devices found in one suspect’s vehicle.
Dramatic footage circulating on Australian media showed a bystander courageously tackling and disarming one gunman before securing the weapon. The father held a legitimate firearms license obtained through membership at a gun club, as target shooting qualifies as a ‘genuine reason’ for firearm ownership under current Australian law, while self-defense does not.
The tragedy has prompted immediate government action, with Prime Minister Albanese announcing proposed tougher gun laws just one day after the shootings. This response comes amid criticism that authorities had underestimated the severity of rising antisemitic violence across the country.
Government reports indicate antisemitic incidents have surged more than threefold since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023 and Israel responded with military action in Gaza. Recent months have seen synagogues and vehicles burned, businesses vandalized with antisemitic graffiti, and physical assaults targeting Jewish communities in Sydney and Melbourne, where most of Australia’s 117,000 Jewish residents live.
The Bondi Beach shooting represents Australia’s deadliest firearm incident in three decades, reviving memories of the 1996 Port Arthur massacre that claimed 35 lives and prompted sweeping gun law reforms. While Australia maintains strict firearm regulations compared to many nations, this event has exposed vulnerabilities in the system and highlighted growing religious tensions within Australian society.