General

Australian police announced on Monday that a father and son were the alleged shooters responsible for the deaths of 15 people during a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach in Sydney. This tragic incident marks Australia's deadliest gun violence in nearly three decades. The 50-year-old father died at the scene, bringing the total fatalities to 16, while his 24-year-old son remains in critical condition at a hospital, according to police at a press conference. Officials have labeled the shooting, which occurred on Sunday, as a targeted antisemitic attack. There are currently 40 individuals hospitalized, including two police officers who are serious but stable. The age of the victims ranged from 10 to 87 years old. Witnesses reported that the shooting lasted about 10 minutes at the busy beach, causing panic as hundreds fled along the sand and into nearby streets. Approximately 1,000 people were at the Hanukkah celebration, which took place in a small park near the beach. A bystander, who was filmed tackling and disarming one of the attackers, has been praised as a hero for potentially saving lives. He was identified as Ahmed al Ahmed, a 43-year-old fruit shop owner who was shot twice and has undergone surgery, as reported by Channel Seven. A fundraising effort for him has already collected more than A$200,000 (around $133,000) by Monday morning. While police have not disclosed the exact weapons used in the attack, video evidence suggests that the shooters were firing what looked like a bolt-action rifle and a shotgun. Morgan Gabriel, a 27-year-old local from Bondi, described how she was on her way to a nearby cinema when she first mistook the sounds of gunfire for fireworks before seeing people running toward her street.