Bondi shooting as it happened: 15 victims confirmed dead following massacre, PM to strengthen gun laws

Police have confirmed the Bondi Beach terror attack was allegedly carried out by a father and son, and say they are not searching for any other suspects.

The pair have been identified as 50-year-old Sajid Akram and his 24-year-old son, Naveed Akram, from Bonnyrigg in Sydney’s south-west, who had been staying in Campsie in the lead-up to the shooting.

Shocking details have emerged about Sajid legally possessing six firearms, Naveed’s past and what Naveed told his mother before the shooting have now been exposed.

​Read everything we know about Sajid and Naveed Akrim. ​

How did we get here is one of the many questions that will dominate these next days.

Anthony Albanese has vowed to ‘eradicate‘ anti-Semitism but how has this not been attempted until now, and how was it allowed to get to this point in the first place?

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Sussan Ley has said the brave Australians who helped with the Bondi Beach massacre are “heroes” who showed “acts of mateship”.

“I want to recognise those who stepped into danger to save lives, the everyday heroes,” she said.

“We don’t know who they all are, but we have heard the stories (of those) who did extraordinary things on the most extraordinary of days.

“Brave civilians, they are indeed heroes. It is those acts of mateship and love that will always define us as Australians.”

Ms Ley also thanked the “swift and courageous” response of the NSW Police and NSW Ambulance paramedics.

“It’s their immediate action that steered people away from danger, that helped save lives and that kept people feeling as safe as they possibly could in this horrific attack,” she told a press conference in Sydney.

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Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has called for greater funding for security around synagogues and Jewish events.

Speaking in Sydney on Monday after the attack, which claimed the lives of at least 15 innocent people at Bondi Beach, she said there needed to be greater support for Jews in Australia.

“We stand ready to support any meaningful action that the Albanese Government can take. To properly fund the security that Jewish Australians have been asking for at their schools, their places of worship and in their community,” she said.

“But it’s about much more than security. If laws need to be passed, we should recall the parliament and undertake to do exactly that. I stand with all Australians in this moment of shared grief.”

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley says Australians are right to be angry and revolted because anti-Semitism “has been left to fester” in the country.

“We have a Government that sees anti-Semitism as a problem to be managed, not an evil that needs to be eradicated,” she says at a press conference in Sydney.

“Everything must change from today in how governments respond.”

Her shadow Home Affairs minister, Jonno Duniam says over the past two years, there have been countless warnings and recommendations to leaders about things that needed to be addressed.

Ms Ley called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to commit to implementing all the recommendations in anti-Semitism envoy Jillian Segal’s report, which was handed to the Government in July.

“I stand with all Australians in this moment of shared grief, and I give this undertaking to the Australian people: we will do whatever it takes to force the strongest possible action from governments to keep Australians safe, to keep Jewish Australians safe, and to secure justice,” Ms Ley said.

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Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has called on the Albanese Government to immediately act on the recommendations delivered in anti-Semitism envoy Jillian Segal’s report earlier this year.

The 20-page plan was released in July to fight anti-Semitism and included 49 actions across 13 areas.

Ms Ley was scathing in her remarks at a press conference on Monday, less than 24 hours after the shocking attack.

“Jewish Australians (have) told me that they’re returning to Israel because they feel safer there than they do here,” Ms Ley said.

“Recently, I spoke with the Prime Minister’s special envoy for anti-Semitism, Jillian Segal and I touched base again with her this morning.

“The Prime Minister has told Jewish Australians that he will do whatever it takes to deal with anti-Semitism.

“He must start today by committing to implementing all of the recommendations in his anti-Semitism envoy Jillian Segal’s report.

“We stand ready to support any meaningful action that the Albanese Government can take.”

Hollywood stars have been among those to express their condolences, including Sydney-born actress Rebel Wilson and Israeli actress Gal Gadot.

“Just waking up to the news about what’s happened on Bondi Beach. An absolute tragedy that is the most un-Australian thing to have happened,” Wilson said.

Gadot, who is well-known for portraying Wonder Woman, wrote that her “heart is shattered” and called it a deliberate strike against “a sacred moment of community and hope”.

Ashton Kutcher, an actor known for his roles on That 70s Show and The Butterfly Effect, also expressed solidarity with Australians.

“Antisemitic rhetoric is not abstract—it carries a cost, and my brothers and sisters continue to pay it. May this devastation somehow spark a hidden miracle, one our eyes do not yet have the merit to see,” Kutcher posted to X.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has reportedly returned to Australia from New Zealand to respond to the Bondi Beach massacre.

The Labor frontbencher will meet with the Prime Minister as the authorities and the nation continue to come to terms with the horrific attack.

“I’m horrified by the news from Bondi. The Prime Minister is being briefed directly by all security agencies,” Mr Burke said in a statement after the attack.

“All Australians stand together with the victims and against this appalling act of violence. I encourage everyone in Sydney to listen to the directions of the NSW Police as they conduct their investigation.”

King Charles has said he’s “appalled and saddened” by the horrific antisemitic terrorist attack on the Chanukah celebration at Bondi Beach on Sunday.

“In times of hurt, Australians always rally together in unity and resolve. Our hearts go out to everyone.

“My wife and I are appalled and saddened by the most dreadful antisemitic terrorist attack on Jewish people attending the Chanukah celebration at Bondi Beach.

“We commend the police, emergency services and members of the public whose heroic actions no doubt prevented even greater horror and tragedy.”

World leaders — including US President Donald Trump, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron — have offered their solidarity following the Bondi Beach massacre.

“I thank world leaders who have reached out, from President Trump, President Macron, Prime Minister Starmer, others right around the world,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in Sydney on Monday morning before visiting the scene.

“(They) have reached out to Australia at this time and we thank you for your sympathy and your solidarity with our values.

“Australia will never submit to division, violence or hatred and we will come through this together. We refuse to let them divide us as a nation.”

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