Australia to tighten gun laws after Bondi Beach shooting kills 16

SYDNEY – Australia will move to strengthen its gun laws after police accused a father and son of carrying out the country’s deadliest mass shooting in nearly three decades, killing 15 people at a Jewish celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach before one of the alleged attackers was shot dead.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday that his cabinet had agreed to tougher firearms rules, including work toward a national gun register. Proposed measures include limits on the number of weapons a licence holder can own, tighter controls on licence duration, and restrictions on legal weapon types and modifications.

“People’s circumstances can change,” Albanese said. “People can be radicalised over a period of time. Licences should not be in perpetuity.”

Police said the 50 year old father was killed at the scene, bringing the death toll to 16. His 24 year old son was in critical condition in hospital. About 40 people were taken to hospital, including two police officers who were in serious but stable condition. Victims ranged in age from 10 to 87.

Authorities did not release the suspects’ names. Security officials said one of them was known to authorities but had not been assessed as an immediate threat. New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said investigators were still working through the backgrounds of both men.

Australian media identified the suspects as Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the father arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa, while the son was Australian born.

The attack has prompted renewed scrutiny of Australia’s firearms regime, among the toughest in the world. Police said the older suspect had held a firearms licence since 2015 and had six registered weapons.

Police did not provide details of the firearms used, but video footage from the scene showed weapons resembling a bolt action rifle and a shotgun. ABC News reported that two Islamic State flags were found in the suspects’ vehicle, without citing a source.

Witnesses said the roughly 10 minute attack unfolded at a crowded beach during a Hanukkah event attended by about 1,000 people, triggering panic as families fled across the sand and into nearby streets.

A bystander, Ahmed al Ahmed, was filmed tackling and disarming an armed man during the attack. He was shot twice and later underwent surgery. A fundraising campaign for him raised more than A$1 million.

Bondi residents described scenes of confusion and fear. Morgan Gabriel, 27, said she initially thought she heard fireworks before people began running. “Their phones had been left down the beach, and everyone was just trying to get away,” she said.

By Monday morning, Bondi Beach was unusually quiet. Mourners laid flowers at a makeshift memorial at the Bondi pavilion, draped with Australian and Israeli flags, as police and private security patrolled the area.

“What we saw yesterday was an act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism, an act of terrorism,” Albanese said after visiting the site. “The Jewish community are hurting today. All Australians stand with you, and we will do whatever is necessary to stamp out antisemitism.”

World leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, offered condolences and support, Albanese said.

The shooting was the most serious in a recent series of antisemitic attacks in Australia since the outbreak of the Israel Gaza war in October 2023. In August, Australia accused Iran of directing at least two antisemitic attacks and expelled its ambassador.

Mass shootings are rare in Australia. Sunday’s attack was the deadliest since 1996, when 35 people were killed at Port Arthur in Tasmania.

Rabbi Mendel Kastel, whose brother in law Eli Schlanger was among those killed, urged unity. “You can very easily become very angry and try to blame people, but that’s not what this is about,” he said. “We will get through this, and the Australian community will help us do it.”

Australia’s Jewish population numbers about 150,000, roughly a third of whom live in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, including Bondi.