Australia’s leaders agreed on Monday to tougher gun laws after the country’s worst mass shooting in almost three decades saw a father and son open fire on a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach, killing 15 people including a child.
The duo fired into crowds packing the Sydney beach for the start of Hanukkah on Sunday evening, sending people fleeing in panic across the tourist hotspot.
A 10-year-old girl, a Holocaust survivor and a local rabbi were among those killed, while 42 more were rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds and other injuries.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese convened a meeting of the leaders of Australia’s states and territories in response, agreeing with them “to strengthen gun laws across the nation”.
Albanese’s office said they had agreed to look into ways to improve background checks for firearm owners, bar non-nationals from obtaining gun licenses and limit the types of weapons that are legal.
Mass shootings have been rare in Australia since a lone gunman killed 35 people in the tourist town of Port Arthur in 1996.
That massacre led to sweeping reforms that were long seen as a gold standard worldwide.
These included a gun buyback scheme, a national firearms register and a crackdown on the ownership of semi-automatic weapons.
But Sunday’s shootings have raised fresh questions on how the father and son — who public broadcaster ABC reported had possible links to the Islamic State group — obtained the weapons.
Police are still unravelling what drove the shootings, although authorities have said it was clearly designed to sow terror among the nation’s Jews.
Albanese called it “an act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism, an act of terrorism on our shores”.
The gunmen targeted an annual celebration that drew more than 1,000 people to the beach to mark the Jewish festival.
They took aim from a raised boardwalk looking over the beach, which was packed with swimmers cooling off on a steamy summer evening.
Witness Beatrice was celebrating her birthday and had just blown out the candles when the shooting started.
“We thought it was fireworks,” she told AFP.
“We’re just feeling lucky we’re all safe.”
Carrying long-barrelled guns, they peppered the beach with bullets for 10 minutes before police shot and killed the 50-year-old father.
The 24-year-old son was arrested and remained under guard in hospital with serious injuries.
Hours after the shooting, police found a homemade bomb in a car parked close to the beach, saying the “improvised explosive device” had likely been planted by the pair.
Rabbi Mendel Kastel said his brother-in-law was among the dead.
“It’s unbelievable that this has happened here in Australia, but we need to hold strong. This is not the Australia that we know. This is not the Australia that we want.”
Wary of reprisals, police have so far dodged questions about the attackers’ religion or ideological motivations.
Misinformation spread quickly online in the wake of the attacks, some of it targeting immigrants and the Muslim community.
Police said they responded to reports on Monday of several pig heads left at a Muslim cemetery in southwestern Sydney.
-Advertisement-
Grab our latest Magazine, "Kelechi Amadi-Obi - Transcending the worlds of Law, Visual Art and Photography". Get your order fast and stress free.
For more details about Newswire Law&Events Magazine, kindly reach out to us on 08039218044, 09070309355. Email: newswiremagazine@yahoo.co.uk. You will be glad you did
Download E-MagazineDo you want to be heard, your events covered, your articles published, or need to advertise your products and services on our Blog and Magazine, reach out to us at Newswire Law and Events, you will be glad you did. For more details about our services, please call: 08039218044, 09070309355. Email: newswiremagazine@yahoo.co.uk
