Australia’s leaders agreed on Monday, December 15, to introduce stricter gun laws after the country’s worst mass shooting almost 30 years, in which a father and son opened fire on a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach, killing 15 people, including a child.
The older gunman, aged 50, was killed at the scene, taking the tally of dead to 16, while his 24-year-old son was in a critical condition in hospital, police told a press conference.
The attackers fired into crowds gathered at the Sydney beach for the start of Hanukkah on Sunday, December 14, triggering panic as people fled across the popular tourist area.
Among those killed were a 10 year old girl, a Holocaust survivor and a local rabbi. At least 42 others were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds and other injuries.
In response to the attack, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese convened a meeting of state and territory leaders, with all parties agreeing “to strengthen gun laws across the nation.”
According to a statement from Albanese’s office, the leaders agreed to explore stronger background checks for firearm owners, restrict non nationals from obtaining gun licences and limit the categories of weapons that can be legally owned.
Mass shootings have been rare in Australia since a lone gunman killed 35 people in Port Arthur in 1996. That tragedy led to sweeping gun reforms widely regarded as a global benchmark, including a national firearms register, a gun buyback programme and strict limits on semi automatic weapons.
However, Sunday’s attack has raised new questions about how the father and son, whom public broadcaster ABC reported may have links to the Islamic State group, obtained their weapons.
Police are still investigating the motive for the shooting, but authorities said it was clearly intended to terrorise Australia’s Jewish community. Albanese described the attack as “an act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism, an act of terrorism on our shores”.
The gunmen targeted an annual celebration that attracted more than 1,000 people to the beach. They opened fire from an elevated boardwalk overlooking swimmers enjoying a hot summer evening.
Armed with long barrelled firearms, the attackers fired for about 10 minutes before police shot and killed the 50 year old father. The 24 year old son was arrested and remained under police guard in hospital with serious injuries.
Several hours later, police discovered a homemade bomb in a car parked near the beach, saying the “improvised explosive device” was likely planted by the pair.
Authorities have so far avoided confirming the attackers’ religious or ideological motivations, warning that misinformation spread rapidly online after the attack, some of it targeting immigrants and the Muslim community.
Police said they were investigating reports of pig heads being left at a Muslim cemetery in southwestern Sydney on Monday, December 15.
As the shooting unfolded, several civilians rushed toward danger to help others escape. Footage showed a man identified by local media as fruit seller Ahmed al Ahmed confronting one of the gunmen as shots were still being fired. The 43 year old managed to wrestle the weapon from the attacker and pointed it at him while backing away.
Off duty lifeguards ran across the sand to pull children to safety. “The team ran out under fire to try and clear children from the playground while the gunmen were firing,” said Steven Pearce of Surf Life Saving New South Wales.
Injured victims were carried across the beach on surfboards used as makeshift stretchers. Belongings left behind by fleeing crowds, including shoes, blankets and picnic items, were scattered across the sand.
Australia marked the tragedy by lowering flags to half mast. On Monday evening, crowds gathered at Bondi Beach to mourn, sing and pay tribute to the victims. The attack followed a series of antisemitic incidents in Australia after the October 7 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Australian government of “pouring oil on the fire of antisemitism” in the months leading up to the shooting.
US President Donald Trump also condemned the attack, calling it a “purely antisemitic attack”.
The Australian government has accused Iran of orchestrating a recent wave of antisemitic violence and expelled Tehran’s ambassador nearly four months ago.
According to intelligence cited by the government, Iran directed the arson of a kosher cafe in Sydney’s Bondi suburb in October 2024 and a major fire attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne in December 2024.
