A total of 16 people were killed in the Bondi Beach shooting in Sydney, Australia, with 42 injured people taken to hospitals across the city
The two gunmen responsible for the mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney were a father and son duo, as revealed by New South Wales Police commissioner Mal Lanyon during a press conference in Sydney.
The elder gunman, who was fatally shot by police, held licences for six firearms, all of which were recovered from the Bondi Beach scene. On Sunday evening, New South Wales Police also disclosed that the victims‘ ages ranged from 10 to 87 years old.
Two “active devices” of “fairly basic” construction were found at Bondi Beach and were removed and made safe, New South Wales Police commissioner Mal Lanyon told a press conference in Sydney, adding: “I’m very glad that those devices were not activated.”
Lanyon said officers were not looking for anyone else in relation to the Bondi Beach attack.
“I can say that we are not looking for a further offender,” he said.
“We are satisfied that there were two offenders involved in yesterday’s incident.
“One is deceased, the second is in a critical but stable condition in hospital at the moment.”
Fourteen individuals lost their lives at the scene, including a 10-year-old girl and a 40-year-old man who later succumbed to their injuries in hospital. The police reported that 42 injured individuals, four of whom are children, were transported to various Sydney hospitals.
Five individuals remain in critical condition, while the rest are in serious but stable conditions, according to the police. Two police officers, a constable and a probationary constable, sustained gunshot wounds and are currently in serious but stable conditions.
British-born rabbi Eli Schlanger, who served as assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi, has been identified as one of the victims. His family remembered him as a “joyful rabbi”, reports the Mirror.
The father of five, originally from Temple Fortune in north London, had family ties to the Kinloss Synagogue in Finchley, as per Jewish News. The 41-year-old and his wife, Chayala, welcomed their youngest child, a boy, just two months ago.
His cousin, Brighton-based Rabbi Zalman Lewis, expressed to Jewish News: “How can a joyful rabbi who went to a beach to spread happiness and light, to make the world a better place, have his life ended in this way?”.
Father-of-two Ahmed al Ahmed, from Sydney, has been lauded as a hero for confronting one of the gunmen and managing to disarm him. Footage circulated on social media shows the gunman retreating.
The family of the 43-year-old fruit shop proprietor, who is currently hospitalised with bullet wounds to his arm and hand, described him as a “100% hero”. New South Wales Premier Chris Minns also commended him as a “genuine hero”.
