(NewsNation) — At least 15 victims are dead after two gunmen opened fire during a Jewish holiday event Sunday at Sydney’s popular Bondi Beach in Australia, officials said, calling it an act of terrorism.
Police said they found six firearms and several improvised explosive devices in a car in connection with the deadly attack. A bomb unit was also on the scene following what is described as one of the deadliest attacks in Australia.
Police fatally shot one gunman, and the second was arrested in critical condition. At least 38 people were confirmed injured, including two police officers, Australian officials said. In a Monday statement, the families of the two injured officers thanked first responders, paramedics and hospital staff who responded to the shooting.
The gathering was meant to celebrate the start of Hanukkah, which begins the evening of Sunday, Dec. 14. A video is circulating online that appears to show one gunman being tackled and disarmed by a bystander while another suspect is seen firing from a pedestrian bridge. Authorities have not yet verified this footage.
Attack inspired by Islamic State: Police
Australia’s federal police commissioner Krissy Barrett said Tuesday the shootings were “a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State.”
The suspects were a father and son, aged 50 and 24 years old. The father was shot dead, while his son was being treated at a hospital Tuesday.
“The suspected murderers, callous in how they allegedly coordinated their attack, appeared to have no regard for the age or ableness of their victims,” Barrett said. “It appears the alleged killers were interested only in a quest for a death tally.”
A vehicle removed from the scene, registered to the younger suspect, contained improvised explosive devices and two ISIS flags.
Officials said this is the deadliest attack of this nature since 1996. The shooting comes amid heightened concern in Australia following a series of antisemitic incidents nationwide since the start of the Israel war in Gaza.
Witnesses described about 10 minutes of sustained gunfire, sending beachgoers running across the sands and into nearby streets and parks.
“I was nearby the front, and I heard these shots go off, and I knew it was gunshots immediately, but I didn’t really register it. … I’m going, well maybe it’s like a one-time shooting, like it’s not America,” said witness and restaurant employee William Doliente Petty. “But turns out it was, and the whole shop just like stood up, and we all just ran into the back exit, and everyone was pushing everyone.”
Victims of the Bondi terror attack
At least nine victims have been publicly identified.
They include assistant Rabbi Eli Schlanger, French national Dan Elkayam, Holocaust survivor Alexander Kleytman, retired police detective Peter Meagher, and 10-year-old Matilda.
According to Australian outlet “The Age,” Reuven Morrison, Yaakov Levitan, Tibor Weitzen, and Marika Pogany — all members of Sydney’s Jewish community — were also killed. An unidentified 40-year-old man also died.
There are 25 people still being treated in hospitals after Sunday’s massacre, 10 of them in critical condition. Three of them are patients in a children’s hospital.
Among them is Ahmed al Ahmed, who was captured on video tackling and disarming one assailant, before pointing the man’s weapon at him and then setting it on the ground.
Calls for tighter gun laws
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the leaders of some of Australia’s states have pledged to tighten the country’s already strict gun laws in what would be the most sweeping reforms since a shooter killed 35 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania, in 1996.
The move is said to be in part because it emerged the older suspect had amassed his cache of six weapons legally.
Political figures denounce killings
Albanese also condemned the attack following the shootings.
“This is a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith, an act of evil, antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation,” Albanese said. “There is no place for this hate, violence and terrorism in our nation.”
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns described the events as “shocking.”
“It’s not common in Australia, and it’s all the more shocking because of that,” he said. “We need to be in a situation where we’re sending a clear and unambiguous message to the Jewish community, in fact, every Australian that lives in this state, that these horrible acts of violence will never be tolerated, and anyone who perpetrates them, we will throw the book at. Anyone who’s thinking about it will be thoroughly investigated.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reacted to the attacks on X.
“The United States strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Australia targeting a Jewish celebration. Antisemitism has no place in this world. Our prayers are with the victims of this horrific attack, the Jewish community, and the people of Australia,” he said.
US Embassy issues statement on attack
The U.S. Embassy in Australia issued a statement.
“We are heartbroken by reports of violence at Bondi Beach and offer our sincerest condolences to the families of the victims of this senseless act that targeted the Jewish community on the first night of Hanukkah,” the embassy wrote on X. “As details continue to unfold, please: avoid the area; follow guidance from local authorities and trusted news sources; and contact loved ones to let them know your status.”
In light of the attack, Minns also acknowledged “you can expect action soon” on gun laws in the country. He added there was no timetable set for those actions.
NewsNation’s Ashley N. Soriano contributed to this article.