The family of a young police officer who was shot in the head during an attack on a Hanukkah celebration on Australia’s Bondi Beach is hailing his return home as “a miracle.”
Probationary Constable Jack Hibbert, 22, was discharged from a hospital on the same day that lawmakers in New South Wales, the country's most populous state, are set to pass tougher gun laws, ban the display of terrorist symbols and curb protests in an emergency sitting.
“As a family, we couldn’t ask for anything more — having our Jack home, especially for Christmas, truly feels like a miracle,” Hibbert's family said in a statement.
Hibbert was patrolling the famous Sydney beach when two gunmen opened fire on the largely Jewish crowd, killing 15 people and injuring dozens of others Dec. 14, in Australia's deadliest shooting in almost three decades.
He had been a police officer for only four months and was wounded in his head and shoulder.
Despite his injuries, Hibbert continued helping others, New South Wales Police said in a statement last week. But while he “miraculously” survived, he lost one of his eyes, the force added.
“Jacko you’ve shown strength of a different degree, we are so glad you’re home buddy,” his family statement said, adding that he was “still recovering and will need space, support, and continued positive thoughts during this time.”
In a separate statement, the family of Constable Scott Dyson, who was placed in a medically induced coma after the attack, said he woke up Tuesday.
The 25-year-old had undergone surgeries almost daily since the attack, his family said. “There is still a long way to go in his recovery, but this is a positive sign,” the statement added.
Fundraisers for Hibbert and Dyson have raised more than $400,000 each.
Five people remain in critical condition, the New South Wales health department said Tuesday.
Australian law enforcement has identified the two suspects as 24-year-old Naveed Akram and his 50-year-old father, Sajid Akram. The elder Akram was shot dead at the scene Dec. 14, while his son was charged last week with 59 offenses, including terrorism and 15 counts of murder after waking up from a coma.
Investigators have said the pair were inspired by Islamic State terrorist group ideology. Two homemade ISIS flags were found in the younger suspect's car, police have said.
ISIS has praised but not officially claimed the attack, referring to it in an official publication as “Sydney’s pride.”
Police alleged Monday that the pair had several weapons, including shotguns and rifles, and had trained in the countryside nearly two months before the attack. The suspects also threw four improvised explosive devices at the crowd on Bondi Beach which did not detonate, police said.
In November, the duo traveled to the southern Philippines, seen in the past as a hot spot for extremism. What they did there and who they met with are being carefully investigated, authorities in both countries have said.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, New South Wales is expected to pass legislation that would outlaw the display of terrorist symbols and make it harder to own guns.
The center-left Labor government has proposed capping most individual gun licenses at four firearms, with farmers allowed as many as 10.
Although Australia tightened gun laws after a 1996 shooting that killed 35 people, a police firearms registry showed that more than 70 people in New South Wales, which includes Sydney, each own more than 100 guns.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who apologized for the attack Monday, has also vowed to review the country's already strict gun ownership laws.
