By William Prott and Orlando Sagar
Sydney needs to “wrap its arms around the Jewish community” in the wake of Australia’s worst mass shooting since the Port Arthur massacre 29 years ago, the state’s Health Minister has said.
The antisemitic attack at Bondi Beach last night on an event to mark the first day of the Jewish religious festival Hanukkah was declared a terrorist incident by New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon just after 9.30pm.
New South Wales Health Minister Ryan Park this morning confirmed 15 people had been killed, as well as one of the gunmen, while 38 of those injured remained in hospitals across Sydney.
“As a community and as a city we need to wrap our arms around our Jewish community, who are going through hell at the moment,” Park told Central News.
“We spoke to the Jewish Board of Deputies last night. We’ve had a number of conversations with rabbis this morning. They’re hurting, but they’re very grateful at the government’s response through the New South Wales Police and ambulance.
“But they want answers, as does the entire community.”
A man draped in the Israeli flag looking towards the foreshore where beachgoers scrambled to safety on Sunday. Photo: Orlando Sagar
The youngest victim was today identified as Matilda Poltavchenko, a 10-year-old girl, who had just wrapped up school for the year. She died from her injuries overnight at Randwick Children’s Hospital.
An assistant rabbi and father-of-five, Eli Schlanger, from the Chabad mission in Bondi, was also confirmed dead as was Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, from the Sydney Beth Din, Melbourne businessman Reuven Morrison, and French national Dan Elkayam, 27. A Holocaust survivor, Alexander Kleytman, a former police officer Peter Meagher, and a congregeant of the Chabad Bondi commuunity, Tibor Weitzen, 78, were also murdered.
Rabbi Schlanger was an organiser of the Chanukah by the Sea event, which appears to have been the main target of the gunmen.
Included among the dozens injured were two police officers, who remain in hospital in a serious but stable condition.
Police confirmed the identities of the attackers, revealing they were a father and son named Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24, from Bonnyrigg in Sydney’s south-west. Sajid Akram was shot dead by police at the scene, while his son remains in hospital under police guard.
A “hero” bystander, identified as 43-year old Sutherland Shire resident Ahmed al Ahmed, was filmed wrestling and snatching a shotgun from the deceased shooter. He underwent surgery in hospital overnight, with a GoFundMe page raising over $400,000 today.
After being disarmed the attacker retreated back to the footbridge, joining his son, where he retrieved another weapon and the pair engaged in a shootout with police.
A man in shock looking at the footbridge where the two gunman fired at an unsuspecting crowd. Photo: Orlando Sagar
As the attack unfolded, “makeshift hospitals” were hastily made on the beach foreshore as emergency services rushed to the scene to attend to traumatised beachgoers and event participants.
Park praised emergency workers for their response to the incident, adding that he, alongside the premier, met with those who attended the incident in the early hours of this morning at Randwick ambulance station to express their gratitude.
“People are alive today because of the men and women in the New South Wales ambulance service and health service… that’s something that they should be proud of, but we as a nation should be very, very proud of their efforts,” he said.
“The New South Wales health system is not a perfect one, but in my view, it’s the best in the world and it has performed miracles in the last 12 hours or so and it will continue to do so”
People laying flowers at the memorial outside Bondi Pavilion. Photo: Orlando Sagar
The CEO of Crime Stoppers New South Wales, Peter Price, implored the public to send any footage or information they may have to authorities. Price said Crime Stoppers is sifting through large amounts of footage and will continue to support the police in their investigation.
“No crime is committed in secret, so if you have any information of any kind, you should report it to Crime Stoppers,” he said.
“Don’t be the gatekeeper of information. Let us determine what is important and what is not important, just send it to us. We have immense capability to basically receive loads and loads of footage, so we’ll take everything.”
NSW Premier Chris Minns has said he is open to changing state gun laws to further restrict access to weapons.
“We want to make sure that prospective reform and change in NSW has a lasting impact,” he added. “You can expect action soon.”
The Commonwealth amended gun laws after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996 when 35 people were murdered by Martin Bryant, with the National Firearms Buyback Program retrieving over 650,000 guns from Australians.
Members of the public can send in footage relating to the shooting to Crime Stoppers or NSW Police through their websites.
Main image by Orlando Sagar
