How the Bondi Beach terror attack unfolded

The horrific incident targeted Sydney’s Jewish community, including families and children, at a beachfront Hanukkah event just before sunset on Sunday evening.

How the Bondi Beach terror attack unfolded

Emergency services were called to the Chanukah by the Sea event in Archer Park in Bondi at 6.43pm (AEST) following reports of gunshots.

Two men wielding longarms opened fire from a small pedestrian footbridge near the grassy playground area at the northern end of Bondi Beach.

First responders were on the scene less than 10 minutes after the initial call.

It is understood more than 1000 people were in the immediate area of the family festival celebrating the first night of Hanukkah, an eight-day Jewish holiday.

Eye witnesses have estimated hearing as many as 50 shots ring out.

Many initially thought the gunfire were fireworks, before taking shelter as best they could – some running into the Bondi surf and others into nearby cafes, pubs and restaurants.

At about 7pm, NSW Police issued a critical warning through social media alerting the public of a “developing incident” at the iconic beach, urging them to avoid the area.

Social media was soon flooded with videos from the scene, with reports of multiple casualties and scenes of heroics.

Social media footage caught one man who wrestled a gun from an attacker.

The man, later identified as Ahmed el Ahmed, a Sydney father of two, calmly crept up on one of the alleged shooters, before tussling with him and disarming him.

By 7.41pm, authorities said two people were in police custody. Shortly after, they confirmed earlier reports of a second alleged incident in nearby Dover Heights were false.

The horror of the shooting was confirmed at around 8.30pm when NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon confirmed at least 12 people had died during the attack and at least 29 others had been injured.

During the same address, Lanyon declared the shooting a “terror incident”.

One of the first victims identified in the mass shooting was Rabbi Eli Schlanger, an assistant Rabbi at Chabad of Bondi. He was a key organiser of the Chanukah by the Sea event.

‘No place for this hate’ says Prime Minister

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addressed the attack at a press conference at about 10pm on Sunday, labelling the scenes “shocking and distressing”.

“An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian and every Australian tonight will be, like me, devastated about this attack on our way of life,” he told reporters.

“There is no place for this hate, violence and terrorism in our nation. Let me be clear we will eradicate it.”

NSW Premier Chris Minns also spoke out: “This cowardly act of terrifying violence was designed to target Sydney’s Jewish community,” Minns said.

As night fell, news of the horror filtered around the world, with world leaders sending their thoughts and prayers to Australia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his nation standing “in solidarity with Australia in the face of the brutal terrorist attack”.

French President Emmanuel Macron extended his thoughts, adding “we share the pain of the Australian people and will continue to fight relentlessly against antisemitic hatred”.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer labelled the attack “deeply distressing:.

King Charles issued a statement about the horrific mass shooting, saying he was “appalled and saddened”.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched another personal criticism of Albanese, blaming him for the Bondi attack.

“I called upon you to replace weakness with action, appeasement with resolve,” Netanyahu said in a video posted on the Israeli prime minister’s official X account.

“Instead, prime minister, you replaced weakness with weakness and appeasement with more appeasement.”

Netanyahu also said he “saluted” the “great man” who tackled one of the terrorists and disarmed him.

New York City, Berlin, and London all ramped up security for Hanukkah events following the Bondi Beach attack.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said extra protection was being deployed for Hanukkah celebrations and synagogues in New York City.

Berlin police said they were stepping up measures around the German capital’s Brandenburg Gate, where a large electric menorah was lit to mark the first night of Hanukkah.

This morning, as Australians woke up, the national flags on the Sydney Harbour bridge were lowered in mourning for the victims of the attack. 

This morning, the official death toll from the shooting rose to 16, including one child.

Dan Elkayam, a French national, has been identified among those killed in the attack.

French President Emmanuel Macron offered his sympathies in a statement on social media.

“I learn with deep sadness of the death of our compatriot Dan Elkayam during the antisemitic terrorist attack in Sydney,” Macron  said on X.

“I think of his family and loved ones and express to them the full solidarity of the nation.”

NSW Health today provided an update on the conditions of the patients rushed to hospital after yesterday’s mass shooting.

A spokesperson confirmed 42 patients were hospitalised, with two – a 10-year-old girl and a 40-year-old man, not surviving.

Police believe the ages of the victims range between 10 and 87 years old.

As of 8am (AEDT) today, 12 patients are in a stable condition at Prince of Wales Hospital.

Three patients are at St George, one is critical and two are stable. 

One person is in a stable condition at Sutherland Hospital, while one person is in a critical condition at Sydney Eye Hospital.

Three patients are critical and five stable at St Vincent’s Hospital. A further two people have been treated and discharged from St Vincent’s.

Three patients critical but stable, one patient critical, one patient is stable, and one is yet to be assessed at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

One patient critical and two patients stable at Sydney Children’s Hospital, in Randwick.

One patient is critical but stable and one is in a stable condition at Royal North Shore Hospital. Two patients are in a stable condition at Liverpool Hospital.

The two patients who died had been receiving treatment at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, and Sydney Children’s Hospital.

Campbell Parade at Bondi Beach remains closed this morning, drivers have been warned.

Eye witnesses have shared some of the horror from the nine minute attack.

Bridget Sarks, who witnessed the terror, described seeing “blood everywhere”.

Sarks and her partner, Tommy, had pulled up behind one of the alleged gunman’s car on their Vespa and were just metres from one of the suspects when he opened fire.

“He was in the white pants and I’ve never seen a gun like that in my life,” she said.

Jacob Barnfield was finishing work in Bondi when he heard gunshots ring out near the promenade area at Bondi Beach. He ran towards the sound and the bloodshed.

“I started ducking and weaving through cars in the park, trying to get a bit closer to the bridge,” Barnfield told Today on Monday.

“The closer the bridge, the more bodies you saw on the floor.” 

He said he witnessed NSW police open fire on one of the alleged gunmen.

This morning, the alleged gunmen behind the attack were identified as father and son Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24.

Sajid is among the 16 killed in the attack. Naveed is in a critical condition in hospital under police guard.

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon confirmed on Monday that Akram was a licensed firearms holder for about 10 years.

There had been initial reports of a third shooter, however, Lanyon said authorities were no longer looking for a third suspect.

“If there’s any other person associated with the two offenders that we believe was either involved or responsible for what took place, we’ll take action,” he told reporters.

“There were two persons involved yesterday. There were two persons in this atrocity. We are not looking for a third person who was involved in yesterday’s attack directly.”

Lanyon also confirmed two improvised explosive devices were found at the scene in Bondi and have been “rendered safe” by police specialists.

He said the bombs has been fairly “rudimentary”, and likely to have been triggered by a wick.

“I think they were fairly basic in terms of their construction,” he said.