At least 12 killed in mass shooting at one of the world’s most famous beaches

The death toll from the mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach has risen to 12, Australian authorities confirmed on 14 December 2025, as police formally declared the attack a terrorist incident aimed at the city’s Jewish community.

Police say two gunmen opened fire shortly before 6.50pm local time at Archer Park, a grassy area along Bondi Beach, where more than 1,000 people had gathered to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah.

One of the attackers was killed at the scene, while the second is in a serious condition in hospital and remains under police guard.

A total of 29 people were taken to hospitals across Sydney, including two police officers who are in serious condition. A child is among those injured.

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said the decision to classify the shooting as terrorism was based on multiple factors, including the timing of the attack, the nature of the weapons used and evidence recovered at the scene.

He confirmed police had located an improvised explosive device inside a vehicle linked to the deceased attacker.

“The fact that it is the first day of Hanukkah, the types of weapons, and some of the other items we found at the scene — including an improvised explosive device in a car linked to the deceased offender,” has led them to declare this a terrorist attack, Lanyon said.

Premier Chris Minns said the assault was “designed to target Sydney’s Jewish community”, describing it as a “horrifying, evil attack” that shattered what should have been “a night of peace and joy”.

Witnesses said the shooting lasted around 10 minutes, sending families and beachgoers scrambling across the sand and into nearby streets and parks.

Footage broadcast by ABC Australia showed police officers spreading out across an outdoor area near the beach, with a firearm lying on the ground near a tree, as paramedics rushed victims away on stretchchers.

Police confirmed that two people are in custody and said the situation had been “neutralised”, with no active shooters unaccounted for.

However, detectives are investigating whether a third gunman or additional accomplices may have been involved.

The investigation will now be led by counter-terrorism specialists. “No stone will be left unturned,” Lanyon said, cautioning that the situation remains fluid and the death toll could still rise.

Robert Gregory, chief executive of the Australian Jewish Association, said community members believe the attack targeted a Chabad-organised Hanukkah event.

“This is an attack on the Jewish community that deeply pains us as a community,” he said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the scenes from Bondi as “shocking and distressing”, while Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the shooting as a “very cruel attack on Jews who went to light the first candle of Hanukkah”.

South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation said that it codemns “this senseless violence, which appears to have targeted the Jewish faithful while they were lighting candles for Hanukkah.”

“There is no justification for terrorism or attacks on any group based on faith or identity. South Africa stands in solidarity with Australia during this period of mourning and grief.”

Mass shootings are rare in Australia, which has one of the lowest gun-related death rates in the developed world.

The attack comes amid heightened concern over antisemitism, with a rise in incidents targeting synagogues, buildings and vehicles since the outbreak of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023.