Australia signalled plans for tougher gun laws on Monday as the country began mourning victims of its worst mass shooting in almost 30 years, in which a father and son duo killed 15 people at a Jewish celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
The father, a 50-year-old, was killed at the scene, taking the number of dead to 16, while his 24-year-old son was in critical condition in hospital, police said at a press conference on Monday.
Forty people were taken to hospital following the attack, including two police officers who are in serious but stable condition, police said. The victims were aged between 10 and 87.
Police did not release the shooters’ names, but said the father had held a firearms license since 2015 and had six registered weapons. One of the suspected attackers was known to authorities but had not been deemed an immediate threat, security officials said.
They were identified as Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram by state broadcaster ABC and other local media outlets.
Home Minister Tony Burke said the father arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa, while his son is an Australian-born citizen.
Police did not provide details about the firearms, but videos from the scene showed the men firing what appeared to be a bolt-action rifle and a shotgun.
“We are very much working through the background of both persons. At this stage, we know very little about them,” New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon told reporters.
Two Islamic state flags were found in the gunmen’s vehicle, Australia’s national broadcaster ABC News said in a report, without citing any source.
The shooting has raised questions about whether Australia’s gun laws, already among the toughest in the world, remain fit for purpose.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would ask Cabinet to consider limits on the number of weapons permitted by a gun licence, and how long a licence should last.
“People’s circumstances can change,” he told reporters.
“People can be radicalised over a period of time. Licences should not be in perpetuity.”
HERO BYSTANDER DISARMS GUNMAN BEFORE BEING WOUNDED
Witnesses said the attack at the famed beach, which was packed on a hot weekend evening, lasted about 10 minutes, sending about 1,000 people attending a Hanukkah event scattering along the sand and into nearby streets.
A bystander captured on video tackling and disarming an armed man during the attack has been hailed as a hero whose actions saved lives. 7News Australia named him as Ahmed al Ahmed, citing a relative, who said the 43-year-old fruit shop owner had been shot twice and had undergone surgery.
A fundraising page for the man had raised more than A$550,000 ($365,000) by Monday afternoon.
Bondi local Morgan Gabriel, 27, said she had been heading to a nearby cinema when she heard what she thought were fireworks, before people started running up her street.
“I sheltered about six or seven. Two of them were actually my close friends, and the rest were just people that were on the street … their phones had been left down the beach, and everyone was just trying to get away,” she said.
“It’s a very sad time this morning… Normally, like on a Monday or any morning, it’s packed. People are swimming, surfing, running. So this is very, very quiet. And there’s definitely a solemn sort of vibe.”
A makeshift memorial with flowers and Israeli and Australian flags was set up at the Bondi pavilion and an online condolence book was established. Police and private Jewish security guards wearing earpieces were positioned around as mourners paid respects and laid flowers.
