Australian police have confirmed that a father and his son were involved in a shooting attack targeting a Jewish Hanukkah celebration near Sydney’s Bondi Beach, leaving dozens injured and triggering heightened security at Jewish events worldwide.
Police said the incident occurred on Sunday evening during a Hanukkah program attended by more than 1,000 people at a small park adjacent to the popular beach. The attack lasted for around 10 minutes, sending hundreds of people fleeing in panic amid hot summer conditions.
According to authorities, the 50-year-old father was shot dead at the scene, while his 24-year-old son was taken to hospital in critical condition. The motive behind the attack is still under investigation. Reuters first reported the developments.
State broadcaster ABC and other local media identified the suspects as Sajid Akram and Navid Akram. Police said the father was a member of a gun club and held a valid firearms licence, which he had possessed since 2015. He legally owned six firearms.
Footage from the scene suggested the attackers may have used a bolt-action rifle and a shotgun, though police have not officially confirmed the specific weapons involved.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said investigators are examining the background of both suspects. “At this stage, we do not have extensive information about their motivations,” he told reporters.
Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the father arrived in Australia on a student visa in 1998, while the son was an Australian-born citizen.
Authorities are treating the incident as a targeted antisemitic and terrorist attack. Police confirmed that around 40 people remain hospitalized, including two police officers in serious condition. Victims range in age from 10 to 87.
Australia is considered one of the safest countries in the world in terms of gun violence, with mass shootings extremely rare. Officials described the incident as the country’s worst gun attack in nearly three decades, since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania that killed 35 people.
Although Australia’s Jewish population is relatively small—around 150,000 in a country of 27 million—many live in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, including the Bondi area.
Following the attack, security was increased at Hanukkah events in major cities including Berlin, London, and New York, amid concerns over copycat or retaliatory incidents.
