By Alfred Bui
Contributing Writer
Eleven people, as well as a suspected gunman, have been confirmed dead following a mass shooting at a Sydney beach targeting a Jewish Hanukkah festival on Sunday evening.
Twenty-seven other people and two police officers have also been injured, according to authorities.
The second alleged gunman remains in police custody and is in critical condition.
Emergency services were called to Bondi Beach at 6:45 p.m. local time on Sunday in response to reports of gunshots.
Hundreds of people were gathering to celebrate the start of the Jewish Festival of Lights when the attack started.
In video footage posted on social media, two suspected gunmen can be seen opening fire on the crowd from a footbridge connecting Campbell Parade and the Bondi Pavilion, forcing many to sprint for cover.
In another video, a bystander can be seen sneaking up on one of the gunmen, wrestling with him and disarming him, then aiming the rifle at the gunman who backs away to flee.
In response, it appears that the good Samaritan is also targeted when the other gunman on the bridge opens fire in his direction.
The police eventually managed to neutralize the two gunmen while officers performed CPR, and loaded the injured onto ambulances.
One of the suspected gunmen was later revealed to be Naveed Akram, a 24-year-old living in Sydney’s multicultural west.
Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon, of the New South Wales Police Force, quickly designated the incident a terrorist attack.
“We know that there were many people there to celebrate a happy occasion — the celebration of Hanukkah. And there was well over 1,000 people there when this took place,” Lanyon said.
“As a result of the circumstances of the incident tonight, at 9:36 p.m. this evening, I declared this to be a terrorist incident.”
While Lanyon said it was too early to draw a conclusion about the type of firearms used by the gunmen and their sources, the police commissioner said improvised explosive devices were detected near the shooting scene.
“Shortly after the shooting occurred, police located a vehicle in Campbell parade at Bondi, which we believe has several improvised explosive devices,” he said.
“We have our rescue bomb disposal unit there at the moment working on that.”
When asked about the latest update on the explosive devices, Lanyon said the investigation was still underway.
“At the moment. It’s too early to say that,” he said.
At the same time, Lanyon called on the community to remain calm as police continue their work. “When I asked for calm, that is really important. This is not a time for retribution,” he said.
“This is a time to allow the police to do their duty. So police are responding to make sure that all of the community is safe.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he stood with the Jewish community and that there was no place for terrorist incidents in Australia.
“[The attack is] an act of evil, antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation,” Albanese said.
“An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian. There is no place for this hate, violence and terrorism in our nation. Let me be clear: We will eradicate it.”
Meanwhile, Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said the shooting was a worst-case scenario come true.
“It’s a family event, a beautiful event every year,” he told Sky News.
“If this is what we think it is, it is our worst fear realized. … if we were targeted it’s something of a scale none of us could ever imagine.”
