At least 16 people were killed and nearly 40 others were injured in a shooting at a Hanukkah celebration on Sunday at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. Local police updated the number of killed and injured on Sunday afternoon (Monday morning local time).
Among the dead is one of the two identified shooters, according to New South Wales police. The second alleged shooter, a 24-year-old man, is in critical condition.
Police said in a statement on Monday that they have not yet formally identified all of the victims but estimate their ages range between 10- and 87-years-old. A 10-year-old girl and a 40-year-old man died in the hospital. Five people remain in critical condition, while others are in serious and stable conditions.
Two police officers who suffered gunshot wounds are in serious but stable condition.
Authorities are calling the incident a terrorist attack and are investigating to determine if there are other threats.
The shooting took place at a “Chanukah by the Sea” celebration, near a children’s playground. Emergency services were called to the area around 6:45 p.m. local time.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said in a press briefing on Sunday evening that officers had found a nearby vehicle, linked to the suspect who was killed, with what appeared to be several improvised explosive devices inside. Lanyon said a rescue bomb disposal unit was on the scene.
Police have requested mobile phone or dashcam video relevant to the shooting from those in the Bondi Beach area.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the shooting “a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hannaukah, which should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith.”
Albanese, along with New South Wales Premier Chris Minns, praised a bystander who took quick action to disarm one of the gunmen. Video circulating on social media shows a bystander wrestling with a gunman before ripping his weapon away. Australian media outlet 7News identified the bystander as Sutherland shop owner Ahmed al Ahmed and reported that he was in the hospital recovering from gunshot wounds to his arm.
“It’s the most unbelievable scene I’ve ever seen,” Minns said. “A man walking up to a gunman who had fired on the community and single-handedly disarming him, putting his own life at risk to save the lives of countless other people. That man in a genuine hero.”
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