Australian authorities said Sunday night that the death toll from the antisemitic terror attack at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach has risen to 15, including a 10-year-old girl and an 87-year-old man.
According to a report by Australia’s ABC network, the two terrorists who opened fire were a father and son. The father, believed to be in his 50s, was killed during the terror attack, while his son, Naveed Akram, 24, was seriously wounded and hospitalized. The father’s name has not yet been released.
Minute-by-minute account of the massacre
So far, authorities have released the names of five of the victims: Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a Chabad emissary who helped organize the event; Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, whose wife said he was killed while trying to shield her; and Dan Elkayam, a 27-year-old French Jewish citizen who had immigrated to Sydney about a year ago. Reuben Morrison, a businessman originally from the former Soviet Union, “discovered his Jewish identity in Sydney,” Chabad said, and Rabbi Yaakov Halevi Levitin. A total of 38 people were wounded in the attack.
4 View gallery
From top left to right: Alex Kleytman, Rabbi Yaakov Halevi Levitin, Reuben Morrison, Eli Schlanger, and Dan Elkayam
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said there is no indication that a third terrorist was involved, after that possibility was examined earlier. He described the attack as “an act of pure evil” directed at Australian Jews and pledged that “every possible resource” would be devoted to the response, amid fears of copycat attacks during Hanukkah.
The massacre was the deadliest mass shooting in Australia in nearly 30 years, since the 1996 Port Arthur shooting in Tasmania that killed 35 people. The following is a timeline of the attack, based on Australian local time:
5 p.m.
The ‘Hanukkah by the Sea’ event begins near Bondi Park at the northern end of Bondi Beach. Organized by Chabad, the celebration draws more than 1,000 people, including many children, for the lighting of the first Hanukkah candle.
6:47 p.m.
Police receive the first reports of gunfire, which investigators believe began minutes earlier. The two terrorists, dressed in black, arrive by car. A flag described as resembling that of ISIS is later reported near the vehicle. Video footage shows the terrorists opening fire from a nearby bridge.
7:05 p.m.
Police issue a public warning urging people in the area to take shelter, several minutes after the initial reports.
7:20 p.m.
According to the Daily Mail, the shooting is still ongoing more than 13 minutes after police were first alerted. Footage emerges of a civilian tackling one of the terrorists from behind after he leaves the bridge and continues firing inside the park. The civilian, identified as Ahmed al-Ahmed, a 43-year-old fruit shop manager and father of two, is shot twice and hospitalized. Another bystander is seen helping subdue the terrorist, who later returns to the bridge.
7:30 p.m.
Additional footage shows both terrorists neutralized and handcuffed by police. The father is killed, and the son is critically wounded as bystanders shout at them.
9 p.m.
Police establish a closed security perimeter around the scene and confirm that several improvised explosive devices were found inside the terrorists’ vehicle. The devices are later neutralized.
9:20 p.m.
Dozens of police officers raid a property linked to the terrorists in Bonnyrigg, a suburb in southwestern Sydney. Three people are seen leaving the house with their hands raised. Police confirm that two people are arrested but do not disclose their identities or their connection to the attackers.