Bondi Beach shooting highlights: Australia to toughen gun laws, Pope condemns violence

Sajid and his son, Naveed Akram, killed 15 people during a Hanukkah event at Australia's iconic Bondi Beach on Sunday.

The event on Sunday, December 14, marked the first night of Hanukkah.

• At 6:47 PM (local time): Two men opened fire at least seven minutes at the event on Bondi Beach. A brave bystander interrupted and disarmed one of the gunmen. Later, both the attackers were shot, and one of them died at the scene.
• 6:57 PM: Police issued a statement, urging people to take shelter.
• 7:39 PM: Local police said two people are in custody.
• 10:00 PM: New South Wales Police designated the incident as a "terrorist attack" on Sydney's Jewish community. They said that an "improvised explosive device" was found in a nearby car.
• December 15, 6:15 am: The death toll in the Bondi Beach shooting rose to 16, including a 10-year-old child and one of the two attackers. Police said that 42 people were still in hospital.
• 7:30 am: Officials confirmed during a press conference that the two gunmen were a father and son, aged 50 and 24. The father died at the scene, while the second attacker, the son, remains in a critical condition, BBC reported.
• 5:36 pm: The two gunmen are reportedly identified as Sajid Akram and his son, Naveed Akram. Australian broadcaster ABC reported that police believe the gunmen had links to the Islamic State group.
• 6:05 pm: Health authorities said 27 people are still in hospital, and six of them are in critical condition.

Following the deadly terrorist attack on Jews at Australia's Bondi Beach during a Hanukkah event, Israel's National Security Council issued renewed safety guidelines for Israelis travelling abroad.

It firstly said, “It is strongly recommended to avoid attending mass events that are not secured. This includes events at synagogues, Chabad houses, Hanukkah parties, etc,” news agency ANI reported

"Be vigilant around Jewish/Israeli sites and report to security forces if anything unusual is detected (suspicious person, suspicious object," it added.

Bondi Beach shooting live updates: Police say one of the assailants was a 50-year-old father who was killed in a shootout with officers.

The other was his 24-year-old son, who is in a critical condition in hospital, under police guard.

Australian media named them as Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram.

Bondi Beach shooting live updates: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the ABC’s 7.30 on Monday that Sajid and his son Naveed Akram, who killed 15 at Bondi Beach in Sydney, were motivated by “extremist ideology”.

He said, “They weren’t part of a wider cell, is the advice that we have up to this point…Clearly, they were motivated by this extremist ideology, and further detail, of course, will be released when the police go through their work.”

Bondi Beach shooting live updates: Australian leaders on Monday agreed to tighten gun laws after the country’s deadliest mass shooting in nearly three decades, in which a father and son opened fire at a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach, killing 15 people, including a 10-year-old child.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called a meeting of leaders from Australian states and territories following the attack, and they agreed “to strengthen gun laws across the nation”.

Albanese’s office said the leaders would examine steps to improve background checks for firearm owners, prevent non-nationals from obtaining gun licences and restrict the types of weapons that can be legally owned.

Bondi Beach shooting live updates: These are the 7 victims who have been identified:

• Matilda (the 10-year-old girl, youngest victim)
• Peter Meagher
• Eli Schlanger
• Alexander Kleytman (oldest victim at 87, was a Holocaust survivor)
• Dan Elkayam (French citizen)
• Reuven Morrison
• Yaakov Levitan

Bondi Beach shooting live updates: A Sydney man said he had received death threats and was "terrified" to leave his home Monday after his photo was widely shared online as the gunman responsible for the Bondi Beach shooting.

"Per media reports, one of the shooters' name is Naveed Akram and my name is Naveed Akram as well…That is not me. I have nothing to do with the incident or that person," he said, condemning the “terrible” shooting, AFP reported.

Bondi Beach shooting live updates: The deadly attack on a Jewish festival at a famed Australian beach has deepened diplomatic tensions between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Israeli counterpart, as domestic pressure mounted for his government to respond to antisemitism.

Albanese called for unity on Monday and said his government was prepared to take whatever action is necessary, after Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Albanese "did nothing" to curb antisemitism, rising since 2023.

Bondi Beach shooting live updates: Australia's public broadcaster ABC said Naveed Akram was believed to be closely connected to an Islamic State member who was arrested in July 2019 and convicted of preparing a terrorist act in Australia.

The broadcaster said counter-terrorism detectives believed the two Bondi Beach gunmen had pledged allegiance to Islamic State.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed Monday that the son, named in local media as Naveed Akram, came to the attention of Australia's security services in 2019.

Bondi Beach shooting live updates: 43-year-old Ahmed al Ahmed, who has been dubbed a hero for snatching a gun from one of the shooters at Australia’s Bondi Beach, is now recovering in hospital after undergoing surgery for bullet injuries to his arm and hand, his family has said.

Ahmed’s cousin Mustafa told 7News Australia that doctors had informed the family that Ahmed was stable after undergoing surgery. “He is a hero, he is a hundred per cent hero,” he said. Full story here.

Bondi Beach shooting live updates: Sajid and his son Naveed Akram, who killed 15 people at a Jewish festival on Sydney’s Bondi Beach had possible links to the Islamic State group, Australia’s public broadcaster ABC reported on Monday.

Senior officials involved in the investigation told ABC that two IS flags were found inside the gunmen’s car at the beach. However, New South Wales police said they could not confirm the claim.

According to the broadcaster, Naveed Akram was believed to have close links to an Islamic State member who was arrested in July 2019 and later convicted of preparing a terrorist act in Australia.

ABC also reported that counter terrorism investigators believe the two attackers behind the Bondi Beach shooting had pledged allegiance to Islamic State.

Bondi Beach shooting live updates: Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, 87, attended the event with his wife Larisa, his children and grandchildren, Chabad and local media reported.

The couple were both Holocaust survivors and had recounted their experiences to aged-care provider JewishCare, which referred to Alex’s harrowing memories of the "dreadful conditions in Siberia, where he, along with his mother and younger brother, struggled for survival."

The "scars of the past" did not deter them from seeking a brighter future in Australia, immigrating from Ukraine, the provider wrote in its 2022/2023 annual report.

Bondi Beach shooting live updates: A primary school student, 10-year-old Matilda, died on Sunday night, her aunt confirmed on social media, according to local media.

She was a former student at Harmony Russian School of Sydney. She has been described as a “bright, joyful, and spirited child who brought light to those around her", local media reported.

Bondi Beach shooting live updates: External affairs minister S Jaishankar said in a post on X that he has spoken to his Australian counterpart Penny Wong and offered them full support after the Bondi Beach massacre.

“Conveyed our deepest condolences about the Bondi Beach terrorist attack and offered our fullest support,” he wrote.

Bondi Beach shooting live updates: A 10-year-old girl was among the 7 victims identified out of the 15 killed in Bondi Beach mass shooting in Australia's Sydney on Sunday, local media reported.

Here is the list of the victims:

• Matilda (the 10-year-old girl, youngest victim)
• Peter Meagher
• Eli Schlanger
• Alexander Kleytman (oldest victim at 87, was a Holocaust survivor)
• Dan Elkayam (French citizen)
• Reuven Morrison
• Yaakov Levitan

Bondi Beach shooting live updates: Several well-known Melbourne landmarks will be illuminated in white tonight to honour those who were killed and injured at Bondi Beach, Australia's 9News reported.

These include Flinders Street Station, Federation Square, Melbourne Town Hall, Parliament House, AAMI Park and Rod Laver Arena.

Bondi Beach shooting live updates: Naveed Akram, the 24-year-old alleged shooter who opened fire at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney's Bondi Beach along with his father Sajid Akhtar, killing 15 people, has been described as a “good boy” by his mother, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Naveed's mother, Verena, told the Sydney Morning Herald that her son had last contacted the family just hours before the mass shooting on Sunday. Read more here.

Bondi Beach shooting live updates: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would propose new restrictions, including limiting the number of guns a licensed owner can obtain.

His proposed measures were announced after the authorities revealed that the older of the two gunmen, who were a father and son, had amassed his six guns legally.

“The government is prepared to take whatever action is necessary. Included in that is the need for tougher gun laws,” Albanese told reporters.

“People’s circumstances can change. People can be radicalized over a period of time. Licenses should not be in perpetuity,” he added.

Bondi Beach Australia shooting live updates: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called for stricter national gun laws after a mass shooting at Bondi Beach left 15 people dead.

Speaking at a press briefing, he said the proposed measures would be placed before the national cabinet. These include possible limits on the number of firearms a person can own or use, along with a review of licence durations.

Bondi Beach Australia shooting live updates: Australia's intelligence service investigated one of the alleged gunmen in the Bondi Beach shooting for links to the Islamic State group six years ago, the national broadcaster said Monday.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation looked into the son in 2019, according to public broadcaster ABC, which cited an unnamed senior official in the joint counter-terrorism operation investigating the Bondi Beach attack.

Bondi Beach Sydney shooting live updates: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the incident as a "devastating terror attack" and expressed solidarity with Australia's Jewish community.

In his address, Albanese said the incident was "a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith, an act of evil, antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation."

He added, "There is no place for this hate, violence and terrorism in our nation."

"Let me be clear, we will eradicate it amidst this vile act of violence and hate, and there will emerge a moment of national unity where Australians across the board will embrace their fellow Australians of Jewish faith," he said.

Bondi Beach shooting live updates: At about 6:47 pm, as daylight faded on a warm Sunday evening at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, the sound of gunfire shattered the calm.

After a moment of with confusion, frightened beachgoers ran across the sand, unsure where the shots were coming from.

Soon, two gunmen were seen in a car park near a grassy area beside the beach, where more than 1,000 members of Australia’s Jewish community had gathered to mark the first day of Hanukkah.

Mobile-phone footage captured two men dressed in dark clothing firing what appeared to be long-barreled rifles as bystanders screamed, with puffs of smoke rising into the air after each shot.

Bondi Beach shooting live updates: The United States "strongly condemns the terrorist attack" that left over a dozen people dead at a Hanukkah event in Sydney, Australia, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday.

"Antisemitism has no place in this world. Our prayers are with the victims of this horrific attack, the Jewish community, and the people of Australia," Rubio said in a post on X.

Bondi Beach shooting live updates: The two gunmen behind the Bondi Beach shooting have been identified as father and son.

During a press conference on Monday morning (local time), New South Wales police commissioner Mal Lanyon said the two males, 50-year-old Sajid Akram and 24-year-old Naveed Akram, have been identified as the only shooters involved in the attack.

Bondi Beach shooting live updates: The attack sparked condemnation worldwide, led by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who described it as an act of "pure evil".

US President Donald Trump said it was a "purely antisemitic attack".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Australia's government of "pouring oil on the fire of antisemitism" by not acting strongly enough before the shooting.