Fifteen people were killed in the Bondi Beach shooting in Sydney, with police identifying a father and son as the attackers and declaring the incident a terrorist act.
Sydney: Police personnel at the site of a shooting incident at Bondi Beach in Sydney on Sunday. (ANI Photo)
Australia is grappling with one of its deadliest acts of mass violence in decades after the death toll from a shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach rose to 15, prompting renewed questions around extremism, public safety and gun controls.
Police in New South Wales (NSW) confirmed on Monday that in total, 16 people (including a gunman) were killed in the attack, which unfolded on Sunday evening during a public gathering at the popular beach. Fourteen people died at the scene, while two others later succumbed to their injuries in hospital, according to a police statement cited by Xinhua news agency.
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The victims ranged in age from 10 to 87 years, underlining the indiscriminate nature of the violence. One of the deceased was also among the alleged shooters.
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Another 40 people remained hospitalised as of Monday morning, five of them in critical condition, police said.
The shooting took place at around 6.47 pm local time on Sunday, when a crowd of close to 1,000 people had gathered at Bondi Beach for an event marking the first day of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights.
NSW Police Force Commissioner Mal Lanyon told a press conference that the alleged attackers were a father and son, aged 50 and 24. The older man was shot dead at the scene.
Lanyon said the 50-year-old was a licensed firearm holder who legally owned six guns, a detail that has drawn immediate attention as investigators examine how the attack was carried out.
NSW Police formally declared the incident a terrorist attack on Sunday night. While addressing the media, Commissioner Lanyon said that a probe into ascertaining the motive was ongoing.
While police have not yet released further details on the attackers’ intent, the choice of location and timing, during a religious celebration, has intensified concerns around targeted violence and antisemitism.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday: “What we saw yesterday was an act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism, an act of terrorism on our shores in an iconic Australian location, Bondi Beach, that is associated with joy, associated with families gathering, associated with celebrations.”
“It is forever tarnished by what has occurred.”
“Australia will not be divided by hate or violence. We will confront it head on. And we will stand together in solidarity with Jewish Australians and with one another,” Albanese said in a post on X.
Australia will not be divided by hate or violence.
We will confront it head on. And we will stand together in solidarity with Jewish Australians and with one another. pic.x.com/uCrRcQS22o
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) December 14, 2025
The Australian Prime Minister also reiterated the government’s resolve to tackle antisemitism, describing it as a “scourge” that must be eradicated collectively.
The Bondi Beach shooting is the deadliest mass shooting in Australia since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, in which 35 people were killed in Tasmania. That tragedy led to sweeping reforms in Australia’s gun ownership laws.
The scale of Sunday’s violence, and the fact that one alleged attacker held firearms legally, is expected to reignite debate over licensing and monitoring, even as authorities caution against drawing conclusions before the investigation is complete.
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