AUSTRALIAN, DEC 14 : At least 12 people were killed and several others injured on Sunday after two gunmen opened fire at a Jewish Hanukkah event at the famous Bondi Beach in Sydney. Australian media reported that 29 people were wounded, including a child and two officers. A massive emergency response was underway, with injured people loaded into ambulances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Australian police termed the shooting as a “terrorist” incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“As a result of the circumstances of the incident tonight at 9:36 pm this evening, I declared this to be a terrorist incident,” New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon told a news conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The shooting occurred on the first night of the eight-day Jewish festival of Hanukkah. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the gunmen opened fire shortly after 6:30 pm (Australian time) as hundreds had gathered on the beach for a seaside event marking the festival\u2019s start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One attacker was shot dead by police, while the other was arrested. The suspect was in critical condition, authorities said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Police said their operation was \u201congoing” and that a \u201cnumber of suspicious items located in the vicinity\u201d were being examined by specialist officers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dramatic footage apparently filmed by a member of the public and broadcast on Australian TV channels showed someone appearing to tackle and disarm one of the gunmen before pointing the man’s weapon at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Local news outlets spoke to distressed and bloody bystanders who witnessed the horror. New South Wales Premier Chris Minns described the reports and images coming from the scene as “deeply distressing.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We heard the shots. It was shocking, it felt like 10 minutes of just bang, bang, bang. It seemed like a powerful weapon,” Camilo Diaz, a 25-year-old student from Chile, told AFP at the scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said a shooting Sunday at Sydney’s Bondi beach was “shocking and distressing.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Police and emergency responders are on the ground working to save lives. My thoughts are with every person affected,” Albanese said in a statement shared by his office. “I urge people in the vicinity to follow information from the (New South Wales) Police,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One witness who declined to be named said he personally witnessed six dead or injured bodies lying on the beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The grassy hill overlooking Bondi Beach was strewn with discarded items from people fleeing too fast to pack up, including an abandoned children’s stroller, an AFP journalist at the scene said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paramedics tended to multiple people lying on the grass by the beach, images broadcast by public broadcaster ABC showed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A weapon that appeared to be a pump action shot-gun was lying by a tree by the beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anoteher witness told AFP that he saw “two shooters in black” at the scene. “There was a shooting, two shooters in black with semi-automatic rifles,” Timothy Brant-Coles told AFP from the Sydney tourist hotspot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The New South Wales Ambulance Service added that multiple people were treated at the scene before being taken to different Sydney hospitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The head of Australia’s Jewish Association said that the shooting during the Hanukkah event was a “tragedy but entirely foreseeable.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The Albanese government was warned so many times but failed to take adequate actions to protect the Jewish community,” Robert Gregory said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A major Australian Muslim organisation also condemned the incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Our hearts, thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, and all those who witnessed or were affected by this deeply traumatic attack,” the Australian National Imams Council said in a statement. “This is a moment for all Australians, including the Australian Muslim community, to stand together in unity, compassion, and solidarity,” they added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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