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Two suspected shooters opened fire at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach on Sunday, killing nine people and wounding multiple others in an attack that spread panic, with bodies reported lying on the ground.
Another 11 wounded were rushed to various hospitals at one of the biggest tourist draws in Australia’s largest city, New South Wales police said.
One of the alleged shooters was killed, and the second was in a critical condition, they said.
“We heard the shots. It was shocking; it felt like ten 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.
Crowds fled in fear from the beach in eastern Sydney, which draws huge numbers of surfers, swimmers and tourists, especially at weekends.
Emergency services first responded to reports of shots being fired at 6:45 pm (0745 GMT), New South Wales police said.
“Specialist officers are examining several suspicious items located in the vicinity, and an exclusion zone is in place,” police said in a statement.
An annual “Chanukah by the Sea” gathering marking the Jewish festival of Hanukkah was planned for Sunday afternoon at the beach, but officials have not commented on a possible antisemitic motive.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned it, however, as a “cruel attack on Jews” and urged the Australian authorities to step up the fight against antisemitism.
One witness who declined to be named said he personally witnessed six dead or injured bodies lying on the beach.
Paramedics tended to multiple people lying on the grass by the beach, images broadcast by public broadcaster ABC showed. A weapon that appeared to be a pump-action shotgun was lying by a tree by the beach.
