Witnesses reported the shooting attack on Bondi beach, in Sydney, Australia, which left at least 12 dead (including one of the shooters) on the afternoon of this Sunday, the 14th. The place was hosting a Jewish Hanukkah event, with the presence of children and babies. At least 29 people were injured, according to the Australian press.
Hundreds of people were participating in the event when the shooting began. Before the attack, the atmosphere was described by witnesses as celebratory, which was interrupted by explosions initially mistaken for fireworks by some of those present.
As the two shooters approached, there was a rush. People sought to hide behind parked cars, inside restaurant bathrooms, in garages and even in strangers’ apartments.
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Lachlan Moran, 32, was waiting for his family nearby when he heard the gunshots. “I panicked and ran. I started running as fast as I could,” he said. He reported that the shots continued for about five minutes. “People were crying, it was just horrible,” he added.
In The Sydney Morning Herald, journalist Elias Visontay reported that he was at the scene with friends: “initially, I thought they were fireworks”. He described the rush of hundreds of people, who looked for places to hide.
“We were all there, dripping with salt water, barefoot and full of sand, huddled behind garage doors and art deco apartment buildings. It was surreal,” he described. Minutes later, he returned to his car, where his cell phone kept ringing: there were calls from worried family and friends, as well as from people who said they knew the injured.
On the way home, he came across what he called “a constant stream of ambulances heading in the opposite direction.” “It’s an incredibly dark day for Sydney and for Australia, without a doubt. But for the Jewish community, it seems like everything has changed,” he concluded.
Other witnesses reported scenes of panic. People ran from the beach in despair, jumping over cars and walls. Finn Foster, 18, a Canadian tourist, told The New York Times that he initially mistook the gunshots for fireworks. According to him, the shots came in sequence.
Ebonny Munro, 32, told the American newspaper that she was there with her 17-month-old son when she heard the shots. She said she threw herself under a barbecue next to another man to protect herself.
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The local press describes a scene of desolation: people were crying, injured people transported on surfboards, children who lost their parents in the middle of the flight. Helicopters had to land at a nearby sports field to transport injured people to hospital.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called it an act of anti-Semitic terrorism that struck at the heart of the nation. The massacre hit one of Australia’s most popular and iconic beaches. One of the shooters was killed by police, while the other is in critical condition.
