Australia beach attack kills 15
Fifteen people were killed and over 40 injured in a terrorist attack by a father and son duo at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday, local police said the following day.
The suspects in the attack were a 50-year-old man, who was fatally shot by police, and his 24-year-old son, the police said, adding they are investigating the motive. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday the two had targeted a Hanukkah celebration attended by over a thousand of Jewish people.
The Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported that the son had come under investigation in 2019 for ties to the Islamic State extremist group.
According to the police, the suspects had six firearms in their possession, while explosive devices were discovered in the car, believed to be linked to the father.
It is the worst shooting in Australia since 1996 when 35 people were killed in an attack in Port Arthur, Tasmania.
Albanese called the Sunday attack an “act of evil, antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation.”
Responding to the incident, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said, “I am deeply saddened and outraged by reports of numerous casualties in the shooting in Sydney.”
