‘It was chaos’: Jewish community targeted in Australia’s deadliest shooting in decades

The first day of Hanukkah was sweltering in Sydney – a perfect afternoon to spend on Australia’s most iconic beach.

More than 1,000 people were enjoying a festival marking the occasion on a grassy area in Bondi – children ran around with their faces painted, crowds snaked around food trucks and many enjoyed live entertainment while soaking up the last rays of sunshine.

Then, shortly before seven p.m. local time, shots were heard.

From a small walkway, a few meters from a children’s playground, armed men fired into the surrounded crowd. A car full of improvised bombs was parked nearby, although they never exploded.

One attendee, who identified himself only as Barry, described seeing people around him being shot as hundreds of beachgoers began screaming and running through the park to escape the attack.

“It was pandemonium and chaos,” he told the BBC.

One video showed a man, dubbed a “genuine hero” by state officials, jumping from behind a parked car to grab a gun from one of the attackers and push him away.

“It was just an incredible scene… in today’s day and age, that families and children in Bondi could be completely mowed down for being Jewish,” Barry said.

At least 11 people have died and more than two dozen are injured, including a child. One gunman was also killed by police, another is in hospital in critical condition and police say they are investigating whether a third person helped organize the attack.

This is an unknown and devastating shock for Australia: the deadliest shooting in this country since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996.

That attack, which killed 35 people, was a turning point and led the government to introduce some of the strictest gun control measures in the world.

Since then, we’ve only had a handful of mass shootings, most of them horrific acts of domestic violence, not public attacks like those today.

Quickly declared a terrorist attack by police, it comes amid a rise in anti-Semitic attacks in Australia since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 and Israel’s subsequent offensive in Gaza.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called it an “act of evil anti-Semitism” and a “vile act of violence and hatred.”

But some, including Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have accused him of failing to address the growing trend of anti-Semitism in the country.

“The Australian government, which received countless warning signs, must come to its senses!” Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar wrote in X.

Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jews, told Sky News on Sunday night that the Jewish community’s “worst fears” had come true.

“It’s been bubbling under the surface for a long time, and now it’s really happened.”

In a statement, Robert Gregory of the Jewish Association of Australia said many Jews would be reflecting tonight on whether they have a future in Australia.

“Facing this horrific act of anti-Semitic violence during the Jewish festival of light and hope is heartbreaking. In times like this, we embrace each other,” the Jewish Council of Australia said in a statement.

There are many things the police can’t (or won’t) say yet.

One question they did answer: it was clearly a terrorist attack.

Who the gunmen are, even how many of them, and their motives remain unclear. They said police knew one of the attackers, but he wasn’t on their radar for something like this.

Officials also did not answer questions about those who died, out of respect for the families who are still being notified.

“It’s too early to give that information,” was the most frequent refrain at a news conference Sunday night.

But when NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon couldn’t offer answers, he attempted to offer reassurance. The police are putting all their effort into this investigation, he said.

He urged the community to remain calm and avoid spreading misinformation online, including speculation about the victims and perpetrators of the attack.

“I want to make sure there is no retaliation,” said Commissioner Lanyon.

Local politicians also asked people not to share graphic images of the attack on social media.

After the shooting, sirens sounded across the city and the area around Bondi was littered with police cars and helicopters circling overhead.

There we find Fin Green, who was on FaceTime with his family in the UK when he saw the shooting outside his window. Not knowing what was happening, he hid in his closet for an hour and a half, until he felt it was safe to come out.

Danny Clayton, a journalist who was on the beach and witnessed the events from the Bondi Pavilion, said some people crashed their cars as they tried to flee.

Many others in the area had similar stories. Restaurant worker William Doliente Petty said he was serving someone when he heard the gunshots. “The whole shop stood up and we ran towards the back exit.”

Australia prides itself on being a happy and safe country and Bondi Beach has long been a symbol of this. But that image has been shattered and residents are in disbelief.

Sunday’s attack also came less than two years after another nearby tragedy. In April last year, a deadly mass stabbing occurred in nearby Bondi Junction. Surprised, many uttered the same words we have heard over and over again today: “This kind of thing just doesn’t happen here.”

Additional reporting by Katy Watson and Tabby Wilson.