Stories of horror and heroism emerged as Australians mourned the 15 people killed by two gunmen at Sydney’s Bondi Beach during a Hanukkah event.
Police said two shooters, a father-son duo, opened fire on the crowd gathered for the Jewish festival beside the landmark Sydney beach late on Sunday, in the worst shooting in Australia in three decades.
The 50-year-old father was killed at the scene while his 24-year-old son was in a critical condition in hospital, police said.
A man identified by Australian media as 43-year-old Sydney fruit shop owner Ahmed al Ahmed has been hailed as a hero for tackling and disarming one of the gunmen during the attack.
Video captured by a bystander shows the man identified as Ahmed creeping through a carpark before tackling the gunman from behind. He was shot by the second gunman and remains in hospital, police said.
“There are many, many people alive tonight as a result of his bravery,” said Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales state.
More tales of heroism came to light on Monday as mourners returned to the area to leave flowers at a makeshift memorial near the beach’s headlands. Private security guards gathered near the site as Jewish leaders visited.
Kellie Sloane, the state opposition leader whose electorate covers Bondi, was at the beach when the shooting happened and said she saw many people risking their lives to help others.
“I went in and tried to do my best like so many other locals. It was an incredibly confronting scene, there were bodies everywhere, people working trying to revive people,” Sloane said. “When I arrived I could hear a couple of shots but everyone was working on the wounded, we held the hands of people who were passing away, we looked after the people who were in shock.”
Bondi Beach was largely quiet on Monday with all traffic blocked off. Businesses including cafes, restaurants, stores, supermarkets along Campbell Parade that would ordinarily be open have been shuttered.
Locals and lifeguards have lined up lost property along the beach left behind from people who ran during the attack.
Mental health advocates were stationed at a number of spots along Bondi.
‘WE CAN MOVE FORWARD’
Yuval Bar Nahum, 23 from Israel living in Bondi has had family members who escaped the Holocaust.
“I could never imagine it would happen here…I felt really safe here.”
Bondi resident Morgan Gabriel, 27, said she sheltered a few people who ran from the gunshots.
“It’s just, it’s a very sad time this morning … I’m here every day and normally, like on a Monday or any morning, it’s packed. People are swimming, surfing, running. So this is very, very quiet. And there’s definitely a solemn sort of vibe,” she said.
Trent Tur, 18, was in the water when the shooting started.
“Unfortunately I saw a couple of dead bodies, it was the worst feeling, words couldn’t describe it,” he said.
“Honestly it’s terrible. As a community we can move forward from this, it will be hard but the spirits, the Australian spirit in Bondi is very high and we can move forward.”
Vitek Patek, 29, said the community is shocked but at the same time not really surprised.
“We have been vocal about how radicalised Australia has gotten in the past few years. The general rhetoric has really shifted towards Jewish people and we have been worried. We are unfortunately not surprised, we are all mourning and in shock but at the same time it was a ticking time bomb.”
Waverley Mayor William Nemesh, a Jewish man whose council covers Bondi, said the community was in shock and mourning.
“It is an unspeakable tragedy that has occurred, a deliberate terrorist attack, cowardly attack targeting innocents enjoying Hannukah. We are tight-knit, we are close, everyone knows someone who has been affected. It truly is devastating,” he said.
Nemesh said many in Sydney’s Jewish community did not feel safe, particularly after the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas and other Palestinian Islamist factions that triggered the Gaza war.
“But this is just beyond what anyone thought was possible and could happen on Bondi Beach,” he said.
“It’s no coincidence this occurred the first night of Hanukkah, a joyous festival that is about bringing light into the world and the light triumphs the darkness.”
(Reporting by Scott Murdoch, Christine Chen and Praveen Menon.)
