By SAM LAWLEY, NEWS REPORTER and CAITLIN POWELL – NEWS REPORTER and ASHLEY NICKEL, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA and CAMERON CARPENTER, DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR, AUSTRALIA and SAM CHISHOLM
Updated:
The death toll has risen to 16 after two gunmen opened fire at the popular tourist beach in Sydney on Sunday evening.
Multiple videos posted to social media show two gunmen standing on a footbridge connecting Campbell Parade to the Bondi Pavilion, firing shots into a crowd.
The men could be seen firing guns into the crowd as people screamed and sprinted for cover. A number of people could be seen lying injured and unmoving on the grass at North Bondi.
Authorities have confirmed that Naveed Akram, 24, from Bonnyrigg in Sydney‘s south-west, was one of the shooters. His father, 50, was the other – and died at the scene.
Read our recap here:
Further updates coming as death toll rises to 16
The death toll has risen to 16, Health Minister Ryan Park announced this evening, including one of the shooters, with 29 reportedly injured, including two police officers.
More updates keep coming in as Australia wakes up to the aftermath of one of the country’s deadliest terror attacks.
Follow all the latest developments as they happen, by heading to the new live blog, with reporting from Sydney: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15383151/Bondi-Beach-shooting-LIVE-updates-Young-schoolgirl-12-dies-hospital-death-toll-climbs-beach-closed-public.html
Thanks for joining us.
Recap – Gunmen open fire on Bondi beachgoers killing 16
On Sunday, gunmen started firing at visitors to popular tourist spot Bondi Beach in Sydney, here’s what we know:
- At around 6.40pm local time (7.40am UK time), two terrorists opened fire on a largley Jewish crowd celebrating the Chanukah by the Sea festival on the beach.
- The death toll has risen to 16, Health Minister Ryan Park announced this evening, including one of the shooters, with 29 reportedly injured, including two police officers.
- Authorities have confirmed that Naveed Akram, 24, was one of the shooters. His suburban home is currently being raided by police.
- It is not clear which of the terrorists was killed in the attack.
- Multiple videos were quickly posted to social media showing two gunmen standing on a footbridge connecting Campbell Parade to the Bondi Pavilion, firing shots into a crowd.
- The first victim was identified as Rabbi Eli Schlanger.
- Ahmed al Ahmed, 43, has been named by relatives as the man fighting one of the terrorists in a video shared widely on social media.
- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the shooting as ‘an act of evil antisemitism, terrorism, that has struck the heart of our nation’.
- Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon declared the attack a terrorist incident and Mr Albanese later confirmed this.
Death toll rises to 16
The death toll has risen to 16 after two gunmen opened fire on Bondi Beach visitors on Sunday morning, according to Australia’s Health Minister Ryan Park.
This number includes one of the gunmen, although it remains unknown which one was killed.
A child is among the new fatalities after dying at Sydney children’s hospital.
Tributes pour in for Rabbi shot dead in attack
Rabbi Eli Schlanger was the first confirmed victim of the shooting on Bondi Beach.
The British-born rabbi, 41, was a father-of-five and celebrating Hanukkah in the city.
His cousing Rabbi Zalman Lewis told the BBC: ‘He was vivacious, energetic, full of life and a very warm outgoing person who loved to help people.
‘I know how he would have been reacting and it was something he said recently.
‘Every human being on earth has a positive way to contribute to making the world a better place, and we just have to keep spreading light. The world is a positive place, and we need to show that and I know Eli would be saying that.’
‘Holocaust survivor among the dead’
‘Holocaust survivor’ Alex Kleytman is among those shot dead in the grim attack on Sydney beachgoers on Sunday, The Times of Israel and The Jerusalem Post report.
His distraught wife Larissa spoke to press as she left St Vincent’s hospital in the city following the shooting and confirmed he had been killed while standing next to her.
She told The Australian: ‘He came on Bondi Beach to celebrate Hanukkah, for us it was always a very, very good celebration, for many, many years.’
Who is the named gunman?
Naveed Akram, 24, who is from Bonnyrigg in the south-west of Sydney, has been confiemed as one of the shooters.
Akram’s suburban home is currently being raided by police. His family has owned the property for a year.
It is not clear whether Akram was the terrorist killed in the attack.
But it has emerged that the gunman was a bricklayer in the city who had recently lost his job, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
Social media posts from an Australian Islamic centre show the shooter completed a religious studies course in 2022, according to the Telegraph.
Hero who disarmed attacker by grabbing his gun is father-of-two fruit shop owner
The hero who disarmed one of the Bondi Beach attackers by grabbing his gun is a father-of-two fruit shop owner.
Ahmed al Ahmed, 43, has been named by relatives as the man fighting one of the terrorists in a video shared widely on social media.
His family said Mr Ahmed, from the Sutherland area of the city, remains in hospital where he has undergone surgery for bullet wounds to his arm and hand.
He is seen in the footage, wearing a white T-shirt and crouching behind a car before pouncing on the back of the gunman then grappling with him and snatching the rifle away from him.
The terrorist backs away in a car park area as Mr Ahmed points the shotgun at him.
The hero is then seen raising his hand before resting the gun against a tree apparently to show police he was not one of the attackers.
Further arrests made
Police have arrested two individuals at a home in Bonnyrigg in south-west Sydney.
It follows police conducting a raid at the property based as it was linked to one of the Bondi gunmen.
The arrests were made on Brown Street about 11.32pm.
What other leaders are saying
This is a despicable and cowardly act that has no place in our country. It is an attack on the very fabric of our nation. I would like to sincerely thank our first responders and brave members of the public who assisted the innocent victims of today’s attack, and showed the very best of our nation. Hate, violence and antisemitism have no place in our nation. – NSW Minister for Multiculturalism Steve Kamper
Unfortunately, the deadly terror attack in Sydney was expected. – Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar in a video in Hebrew
Such acts of violence, targeting innocent people and aiming to sow division and fear, have absolutely no place in Australia. An attack on any community is an attack on all of us. – Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Australia
To ordinary Australians, this moment demands clarity. What once seemed distant or uncomfortable can no longer be ignored. Taunts from the Opera House steps, synagogues set alight and now massacres at a celebration form a clear pattern. This is not the Australia we know and it cannot be the Australia we accept. – Australia’s special envoy to combat antisemitism Jillian Segal
This is not the Australia we know and love, and something has got to change. – Liberal MP Andrew Hastie
I’m absolutely devastated by the horrific violence at Bondi Beach. This is an appalling and unforgivable act of violence. My thoughts are especially with the Jewish community. – Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi
We stand together as Australians against hate in this moment of profound tragedy and shock. Those who ran towards the danger, everyday Australians, our police and paramedics are heroes. I provide the prime minister and all Commonwealth and state agencies with the Coalition’s full and unconditional support as both governments respond to this situation. – Opposition leader Sussan Ley
IEDs safely contained from shooters’ vehicle
Police have said multiple Improvised Explosive Devices have been removed from the vehicle the shooters had used.
The explosives have safely been contained and removed in an armoured police truck.
Dozens of cars parked on Campbell Pde were also searched by police who are believed not to have found any further bombs.
Gunman was known to intelligence agency
Mike Burgess, the ASIO Director-General, said one of the gunman was on the radar of the domestic intelligence agency.
‘One of these individuals was known to us, but not in an immediate threat perspective,’ Burgess told reporters in Canberra.
‘So obviously we need to look into what happened.’








