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‘Pure evil’: What Australian PM Anthony Albanese said on Bondi Beach shooting that killed 15
PM Anthony Albanese also added that Australia is mourning those who died in the horrific Bondi Beach shooting by flying flags at half-mast on Monday.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday called the shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach “an act of pure evil” and said that the country was mourning its dead by flying national flags at half mast.
Albanese laid flowers at the entrance of the Bondi Pavilion on the beach, where a father-son duo allegedly opened fire and killed at least 15 people attending a Hanukkah event. The father was killed by security forces, thus the total deaths in the incident being 16.
"What we saw yesterday was an act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism, an act of terrorism on our shores in an iconic Australian location, Bondi Beach, that is associated with joy, associated with families gathering, associated with celebrations," news agency AFP quoted Albanese as telling a news conference.
He also added that Australia is mourning the dead by flying flags at half-mast on Monday.
The two gunmen who allegedly targeted the Jewish celebration were a father and son, Reuters quoted the police as saying on Monday.
Officials have described Sunday's shooting as a targeted antisemitic attack.
It is said to be the worst incident of gun violence in Australia in almost 30 years.
A targeted attack
The father, identified as a 50-year-old Sajid Akram, was killed at the scene, taking the number of dead to 16.
His 24-year-old son, identified as Naveed Akram, was in a critical condition in hospital, police said at a press conference on Monday. He is a Pakistani national, according to unnamed US intelligence officials cited by CBS. CBS News further said it reviewed his New South Wales driver's licence too.
Forty people remain in hospital following the attack, including two police officers who are in a serious but stable condition, Reuters reported. The victims were aged between 10 and 87.
The injured include a 43-year-old fruit shop owner, Ahmed al Ahmed, who wrestled a gun from one of the alleged attackers during the mass shooting. His family said that he is recovering in the hospital after undergoing surgery for bullet wounds to his arm and hand, Reuters reported.
Witnesses said the attack at the famed beach, which was packed on a hot evening, lasted about 10 minutes, sending hundreds of people scattering along the sand and into nearby streets.
Police said around 1,000 people had attended the targeted Hanukkah event, which was held in a small park off the beach.
