Authorities have identified one of the gunman involved in the deadly attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday. Police confirmed the suspect as 24-year-old Naveed Akram, a resident of Bonnyrigg in south-west Sydney, according to the report.
Meanwhile, an official told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that police were raiding Akram’s home. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.
At the same time, emergency teams launched a large-scale police and ambulance operation at the iconic beach.
What happened at Bondi Beach?
New South Wales Police responded around 6:45 pm AEDT after reports of an active shooter. Soon after, video footage emerged showing two men firing from a bridge into a crowd.
According to ABC reporter Sean Tarek Goodwin, a witness saw the attackers standing on a small footbridge near the Bondi playground car park. The shooters wore black clothes.
The witness said they “mowed down” people gathered at the park. He added that the attack lasted about 10 minutes and described it as “absolute hell on Earth.”
Death toll and injuries rise
NSW Police confirmed that 12 people were killed, including one of the shooters. Meanwhile, officers arrested the second shooter, whose condition remains unclear.
In addition, the attack injured 29 people, including two police officers.
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said the officers were in a “serious, verging on critical” condition. He told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that both officers were in surgery.
NSW Ambulance transported victims to multiple hospitals. These included St Vincent’s, Royal Prince Alfred, St George, Royal North Shore, Westmead, Sydney Children’s Hospital, and Prince of Wales Hospital.
Hanukkah event targeted
The shooting took place at the northern end of Bondi Beach, close to the Bondi Park playground. At the time, a Jewish Hanukkah event called “Chanukah by the Sea” was underway.
Later, police discovered a suspected improvised explosive device (IED) on Campbell Parade. The bomb squad took control of the device.
As a precaution, authorities urged people to avoid the entire area.
Terror incident declared
NSW Premier Chris Minns described the shooting as a “targeted attack on the Jewish community.”
Soon after, Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon officially declared the incident an act of terrorism. “As a result of the circumstances of the incident tonight, at 9:36pm this evening, I declared this to be a terrorist incident,” he said.
Peter Wertheim, from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said thousands of people attended the event. He added that he believed the gathering was deliberately targeted.
Global leaders condemn the attack
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reacted on X and called the shooting a ghastly terrorist attack. He expressed solidarity with the people of Australia.
Meanwhile, Israeli President Isaac Herzog also responded strongly. He wrote, “Our heart goes out to them. Our heart misses a beat. The entire nation of Israel misses a beat in this very moment as we pray for the recovery of the wounded … and we pray for those who lost their lives. We send our warmest strength from here, from Jerusalem, and we repeat our words, time and again, to the Australian government, to take action to fight against the enormous wave of antisemitism which is plaguing Australian society.”