What we know
- At least 15 people were killed in a shooting at a Hanukkah event at Australia’s Bondi Beach in Sydney, police said. More than two dozen others remain hospitalized, some of them in critical condition.
- Police identified the two suspects as a father and son, ages 50 and 24. Officers fatally shot the 50-year-old at the scene, while the 24-year-old “suffered critical injuries” and was hospitalized.
- Officials declared the shooting a terrorist attack and said it was “designed to target” Jewish people. Victims included a Holocaust survivor, a 10-year-old and two rabbis.
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the gunmen were inspired by "Islamic State ideology."
- Albanese also said the government would consider further tightening Australia’s already strict gun laws and aim to eradicate antisemitism, a growing issue in the country.
- Ahmed al-Ahmed has been hailed as a "real-life hero" for disarming one of the gunmen and has successfully undergone his first operation after having been shot during the struggle.
Mourners gather at memorial outside Bondi Pavilion
Mourners gathered for a second day Tuesday at a makeshift memorial outside Bondi Pavilion, two days after the shooting at the popular seaside resort.
Two homemade Islamic State flags were found in suspect's car, officials say
Police officials in Australia say two homemade Islamic State flags were found in the car belonging to one of the suspects in the Bondi Beach attack.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said at a news conference that the flags were found in the car of the younger suspect, whom NBC News has identified as Naveed Akram, 24.
“This was a barbaric attack against Jewish Australians,” Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said.
“Early indications point to a terrorism attack inspired by the Islamic State,” Barrett said.
In addition, Lanyon said the suspects, Akram and his father, Sajid, traveled to the Philippines last month. What that trip was for and whom they met with, as well as the specifics of their travel, are all under investigation, Lanyon said.
Australian prime minister says Bondi Beach shooters were inspired by 'Islamic State ideology'
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Tuesday in a radio interview with ABC Sydney that the gunmen were "motivated by Islamic State ideology” that “has been around for more than a decade that led to this ideology of hate, and in this case, a preparedness to engage in mass murder.”
The Islamic State, or ISIS, took control of large swaths of Syria and Iraq in 2014, but the militant group was subsequently pushed back by the U.S. military and its allies, though its ideology has inspired attacks by extremists in Europe and elsewhere in recent years. Pockets of ISIS are also still active in the Middle East: President Donald Trump on Saturday blamed ISIS for an attack in Syria that killed two U.S. Army soldiers and a civilian U.S. interpreter.
Albanese said in the interview that the two gunmen had carefully plotted the attack and did not appear to have any accomplices.
“The investigation is ongoing, but it would appear that the advice we receive was that these two acted alone,” he said.
“Clearly it was well-planned. They clearly had thought through the positioning of where they would be on that bridge to give them a higher position than the people that they were seeking to harm. And this was a meticulous, calculated, cold-blooded attack,” Albanese added.
New York State Police says troopers are on high alert around synagogues
New York State Police said today they are enhancing patrols around synagogues and other religious institutions after the Bondi Beach attack.
The directive to be on high alert for suspicious activity is statewide, the agency said in a news release. Troopers will also maintain visible presences around holiday events, crowded shopping venues and large public gatherings.
“These measures are intended to deter criminal activity, provide reassurance to communities, and allow for a rapid response if concerns arise,” the agency said.
Six people are in critical condition, official says
Six people are in critical condition in several Sydney-area hospitals, according to a New South Wales Health spokesperson.
Four other people are in critical but stable condition, and 15 are in stable condition, the spokesperson said.
'We know what it means to lose loved ones,' father of man who disarmed gunman says
The father of Ahmed al-Ahmed, the man credited with disarming one of the gunmen, said his family’s experience during Syria’s long civil war prompted his son to act in Australia.
“We know what it means to lose loved ones,” Mohammad Fatih Al-Ahmed told NBC News. “We have seen all kinds of crime and injustice in Syria, so Ahmed had to intervene when he saw the right opportunity.”
Al-Ahmed said his family left Syria two months ago and obtained three-month visitor visas for Australia. His son has two daughters — a 6-year-old and a 3-year-old, Al-Ahmed said.
He said he felt immense pride when he learned that President Donald Trump called his son a "very brave person" who "saved a lot of lives."
He added: “I want the whole world to remember the name of my Muslim son: Ahmed, son of Mohammad Fatih Al-Ahmed. He is the one who risked his life, attacked the terrorist, and could have died in order to protect others and stop the killing.”
Senior Holy Land Christian leaders condemn attack
Senior Christian leaders in Jerusalem have condemned the attack on members of the Jewish community.
"God commands us to respect all innocent human beings — this is a belief shared by all the Children of Abraham the father of the prophets," reads the statement issued today by the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem, the body that represents Christian presence in the Holy Land.
"We pray for all impacted by this violence," the statement added. "We pray for our broken world, that it may be healed, and all can worship freely and in peace."
The statement also praised Ahmed al Ahmed, a Muslim Syrian immigrant to Australia who tackled one of the shooters and has been hailed as a hero who saved lives.
Bondi Beach attack victim Dan Elkayam was NBCUniversal employee
Dan Elkayam, one of the 15 people killed in Australia's Hanukkah attack over the weekend, worked for NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast Corp. and is NBC News' parent company.
"Sadly, I can confirm that he was amongst the victims," Jasmine Love, Elkayam's hiring manager, told NBC News.
Elkayam was earlier identified as one of the victims by Jean-Noël Barrot, France’s minister for Europe and foreign affairs.
According to a LinkedIn page that NBC News has verified as belonging to Elkayam, he was an IT systems administrator who recently moved from France to Australia “to explore new opportunities.”
A Sydney-based soccer club, Rockdale Ilinden FC, said in a statement on Facebook that Elkayam, 27, was a “Frenchman of Jewish faith” and “an extremely talented midfield player” with a passion for soccer. The club said he lived in eastern Sydney with his girlfriend and “loved the Australian way of life.”
Australian flags fly at half-staff
The Australian and Aboriginal flags flew at half staff on the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the aftermath of the Bondi Beach shootings.In the Australian capital, Canberra, Parliament House also paid tribute by lowering the flag.
And at the scene of the shooting, over the Bondi Pavilion, the Australian flag also flew at half-staff.
'Enough with these forms of antisemitic violence,' Pope Leo says
Pope Leo XIV sent a telegram today to the archbishop of Sydney expressing his deep sadness over the loss of “members of the Jewish community gathered for a Hanukkah celebration,” Vatican News reported yesterday.
The pope shared his renewed hope that “those tempted to violence will undergo conversion and seek the path of peace," the telegram said, and he offered his prayers for those still recovering.
Speaking today with the groups that donated this year’s Vatican Christmas Tree and Nativity Scene, Leo also asked for prayers for all those suffering because of war and violence, including the victims of the attack in Sydney.
“Enough with these forms of antisemitic violence,” he said. “We must eliminate hatred from our hearts.”
