© APEmergency workers transport a person on a stretcher after a reported shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025.
The victims include a 10-year-old girl, a popular rabbi and an elderly Holocaust survivor.
Footage from the scene shows the two terrorists, one of whom had a shotgun and the other a bold-action rifle, firing round after round from a bridge overlooking the family-friendly Chanukah by the Sea 2025 event — which had a petting zoo and a bubble station for the kids.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the slaughter, "a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah." Jewish leaders, including several of the victims, warned the left-wing government — as recently as days before the attack — that antisemitism was dangerously escalating in the nation of 27.5 million people.
One of the suspects has been identified as Naveed Akram, 24, who is in critical condition after being hit by police. The other terrorist, 50, is was killed.
And the twisted pair are believed to be father and son, Australian authorities revealed Monday, and they owned at least six fully-licensed weapons between them.
Harrowing cell phone footage shows that the gunmen went unchallenged for more than 10 minutes — despite cops reportedly being nearby.
One furious Israeli-Australian survivor said that the shooting went on for up to 20 minutes. "Twenty minutes with four policemen there — nobody give fire back. Nothing, like they are froze," said the witness, who revealed he covered his children with his body while watching the horror unfold. He added: "Four policemen there didn't give fire back. I don't understand why."
When asked who they were targeting, he responded, "Everyone. Jews. Men, old, kids, everyone. It doesn't matter."
It wasn't until a good Samaritan, a local fruit seller and father of two named Ahmed al-Ahmed, disarmed one of the shooters that police appeared to return fire, video shows.
Footage posted on social media captured al-Ahmed sneaking behind cars before tackling one of the gunmen, ripping the firearm out of his grasp and aiming at the suspect as he crawled away.
"Tonight saw strong acts of personal courage and bravery from individuals in our community, and I think it's worth remembering that within all of this evil, in all of this sadness, there are still wonderful, brave Australians that are prepared to risk their lives to help a complete stranger," New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said at a press conference.
Al-Ahmed was shot twice during his act of heroism and is currently in the hospital awaiting surgery, according to his cousin, Mustafa.
"We don't know what will happen to him, but we hope he survives. He is a hero 100%," Mustafa said, adding that his cousin had no experience with guns but happened to be passing by and decided to intervene.
In the video, one of the terrorists, dressed all in black, suddenly falls to the ground after being taken out by the police.
The other terrorist, wearing a black t-shirt and tan shorts, is later seen being surrounded by cops while he screams, "don't shoot."
Another video shows a furious survivor in white kicking the suspect in the head while he lay on the ground in handcuffs, before police push him away.
Improvised explosive devices were recovered from the deceased gunman's vehicle at Bondi Beach, according to police.
The attack was quickly declared an act of terrorism targeting Jewish people, after some 1,000 people had gathered on the beach for the Hanukkah celebration.
"This cowardly act of terrified violence is shocking and painful to see and represents some of our worst fears about terrorism in Sydney," Minns said.
"This attack was designed to target Sydney's Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah," he said. "What should've been a night of peace and joy celebrated in that community with families and supporters has been shattered by this horrifying evil attack."
Thousands of beachgoers fled as the gunfire rang out over the crowded beach.
The gunmen, wearing dark shirts with one wearing white pants, perched themselves on a pedestrian bridge that overlooked Bondi Park and a road surrounding the area near the iconic coast.
The crowd was gathering near the park's playground for the festive celebration that started at 5 p.m. local time before the pair launched their attack.
One of the suspected gunmen was killed at the scene while the other was taken into custody in critical condition, officials said.
Officials reportedly raided suspect Akram's house after the shooting.
Police said that one of the gunmen was on Australia's Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) watchlist but wasn't deemed "an immediate threat."
Nevertheless, they found a cache of weapons which were owned legally. That's despite Australia's crackdown on gun ownership since its last serious mass shooting in 1996.
Since then, semi-automatic rifles were banned and strict purchasing regulations were put in place.
Police said there was no active threat but cautioned people to stay away from the area as they work to disarm several improvised explosive device or IED, ABC reported.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the "vile" attack as a "dark moment of the nation."
"This is a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith," Albanese said at a press conference in Canberra.
"An act of evil antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation," he said. "An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian, and every Australian tonight will be, like me, devastated on this attack on our way of life.
"There is no place for this hate, violence and terrorism in our nation. Let me be clear, we will eradicate it," Albanese added. "Amidst this vile act of violence and hate, will emerge a moment of national unity, where Australians across the board will embrace their fellow Australians of Jewish Faith.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the tragedy a "cruel attack on Jews."
"Our sisters and brothers in Sydney have been attacked by vile terrorists in a very cruel attack on Jews who went to light the first candle of Hanukkah Bondi Beach," Herzog said, according to the Times of Israel.
"If we were targeted deliberately in this way, it's something of a scale that none of us could have ever fathomed. It's a horrific thing," Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, told Sky News, adding his media adviser had been wounded in the attack.
"I saw at least 10 people on the ground and blood everywhere," witness Harry Wilson told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Fury is now growing among Australia's 117,000-strong Jewish community, almost 50,000 of whom live in and around Sydney, over what they regard as a preventable attack that followed two years of surging antisemitism.
Levi Shemtov, a US-based rabbi, whose nephew was caught up in the fatal shooting, said that Sydney, which had also prided itself on its multiculturalism, had taken a dark turn.
"Many people wanted to get as far away from the horrors of the Holocaust after it ended and went to Australia," Shemtov told CNN, before adding that Sydney has "taken a turn for the worse, in a very major way."
Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, accused Australia's government of fanning the flames of anti-Jewish sentiment in the country.
"A few months ago, I wrote a letter to the Prime Minister of Australia. I said that their policy was pouring oil on the flames of antisemitism and encouraging the hatred of Jews that is raging in the streets of Australia," Netanyahu said ahead of his weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday.
"Today, something terrible occurred there. A cold-blooded murder," he added.
Sunday's attack is the deadliest shooting in Australia since April 1996, when 35 people were killed and 23 others were wounded during a shooting in Port Arthur, Tasmania.
Makes one wonder why. Hmm...