How Bondi’s Hanukkah pageant turned from pleasure to horror inside minutes

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BBC Confirm

How the Bondi capturing unfolded

It was an evening that promised to convey "pleasure and lightweight" to Sydney's iconic Bondi Seaside as crowds of Jewish households gathered at a park to have a good time the primary night time of Hanukkah, also called the pageant of sunshine.

They had been amongst 1000's of different swimmers, surfers and sunbathers who had flocked to Australia's most well-known seashore on a scorching summer time's afternoon.

However not lengthy after the Hanukkah occasion kicked off at 17:00 native time and the primary free donuts had been doled out, festive music was drowned out by the sounds of screams and the echo of gunshots.

It is unclear precisely when the primary shot was fired, however the preliminary name to police was made at 18:47. Within the minutes that adopted, two gunmen would kill not less than 15 folks, and injure dozens extra, authorities mentioned.

A neighborhood highschool trainer, Chavi, advised the BBC she dropped to the bottom to guard her child as "bullets had been flying above us".

"It was pandemonium and chaos," one other attendee, who recognized himself as Barry, mentioned as he described watching a throng of individuals attempting to flee the scene that had immediately devolved right into a nightmare.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/ca6e/live/875029f0-d9d3-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.png.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/ca6e/live/875029f0-d9d3-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.png.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/ca6e/live/875029f0-d9d3-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.png.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/ca6e/live/875029f0-d9d3-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.png.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/ca6e/live/875029f0-d9d3-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.png.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/ca6e/live/875029f0-d9d3-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.png.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/ca6e/live/875029f0-d9d3-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.png.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/ca6e/live/875029f0-d9d3-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.png.webp" loading="eager" alt="A graphic shows where the Bondi Beach shooting unfolded, in relation to the pavilion and the bridge and the park - all of which are close by. " class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> In a single video verified by the BBC, upbeat music from the Hanukkah occasion can nonetheless be heard within the background as folks crouch down and pictures are heard, interspersed between shrieks.

The eerily jubilant music continues taking part in whereas the digital camera pans over the grass, revealing prostrate our bodies fully nonetheless, their situation unclear.

Separate footage reveals teams of individuals mendacity atop each other on the grass, as one girl tries to cowl a younger kid's head along with her hand.

Panic quickly unfold from the park to the sand, the place movies present terrified seashore goers sprinting away from the gunfire.

Screams, honking automotive horns and ambulance sirens fill the air within the subsequent chaotic minutes. Some vehicles crashed as folks desperately tried to get away, witnesses have advised the BBC.

Eyewitness video reveals folks fleeing seashore as pictures are fired

An almost 11-minute video, verified by the BBC, offers maybe the clearest timeline of the assault - although it's unclear precisely how far into it the recording began.

It begins as the 2 gunmen make their approach throughout Campbell Parade - the lengthy stretch of highway, lined with cafes, that curves across the seashore - and onto a pedestrian bridge above the park the place the Hannukah occasion was happening.

It's from there that two males - named as Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed, 24 - allegedly use the elevated place to hold out the rest of the assault, utilizing what an knowledgeable advised the BBC had been "two sporting shotguns".

One man, believed to be Naveed Akram, stays on the bridge, whereas the opposite makes his approach in the direction of the park on foot. Pictures proceed to echo at one-second intervals in among the footage, whereas folks will be heard screaming.

Because the older man, believed to be Sajid Akram, begins to maneuver away from the bridge, he begins firing at folks.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/bf2f/live/5c8fcc20-d9d3-11f0-9bad-79a2809d3207.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/bf2f/live/5c8fcc20-d9d3-11f0-9bad-79a2809d3207.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/bf2f/live/5c8fcc20-d9d3-11f0-9bad-79a2809d3207.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/bf2f/live/5c8fcc20-d9d3-11f0-9bad-79a2809d3207.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/bf2f/live/5c8fcc20-d9d3-11f0-9bad-79a2809d3207.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/bf2f/live/5c8fcc20-d9d3-11f0-9bad-79a2809d3207.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/bf2f/live/5c8fcc20-d9d3-11f0-9bad-79a2809d3207.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/bf2f/live/5c8fcc20-d9d3-11f0-9bad-79a2809d3207.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Fairfax Media Police cars on the road" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Fairfax Media Dozens of emergency providers flooded Bondi Seaside following the capturing

Just some minutes later, a passerby - who's seen crouching behind parked vehicles - catches Sajid off guard and is ready to wrest the firearm off him inside a couple of seconds.

The gunman stumbles away, and the person, who has been recognized as Ahmed al Ahmed, factors the firearm at him, earlier than laying the weapon down in opposition to a tree and placing his arms as much as sign to officers that he's not the suspect.

Ahmed, who was shot twice through the assault, has been hailed as a hero and credited by New South Wales Premier Chris Minns for saving "numerous lives" together with his courageous actions.

Lower than a minute after being disarmed, nonetheless, Sajid Akram returns to the bridge and resumes capturing at folks with one other weapon.

The capturing stops about two minutes later when it seems each males are hit by police hearth.

About seven-and-a-half minutes into the clip, police arrive on the bridge the place they're confronted with a extremely charged scene - two males with gunshot wounds - the alleged gunmen - and a crowd of bystanders, a few of whom seem to kick the lads on the bottom.

Police later confirmed that one of many gunmen, Sajid Akram, was discovered useless on the scene, whereas the opposite was critically wounded and brought to hospital, the place he stays.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/b4ac/live/d8904d20-d9bc-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.png.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/b4ac/live/d8904d20-d9bc-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.png.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/b4ac/live/d8904d20-d9bc-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.png.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/b4ac/live/d8904d20-d9bc-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.png.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/b4ac/live/d8904d20-d9bc-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.png.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/b4ac/live/d8904d20-d9bc-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.png.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/b4ac/live/d8904d20-d9bc-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.png.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/b4ac/live/d8904d20-d9bc-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.png.webp" loading="lazy" alt="A map shows the location of the shooting at Bondi Beach and the Airbnb used by the gunman in the west" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Police say each males lived about an hour's drive from Bondi Seaside at a home in Bonnyrigg, a suburb in Sydney's west.

Days earlier than the assault, nonetheless, they'd decamped to a short-term rental in Campsie - about half-hour nearer to the seashore, media experiences mentioned.

Their household residence in Bonnyrigg has turn into one of many major focuses of the police investigation. Officers raided it on Sunday night time.

Footage of the raid reveals three folks popping out of it with their arms up, whereas closely armed cops in tactical gear surrounded the perimeter.

These folks had been arrested, however have since been launched with out cost.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/6733/live/0a3bb4d0-d9d2-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/6733/live/0a3bb4d0-d9d2-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/6733/live/0a3bb4d0-d9d2-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/6733/live/0a3bb4d0-d9d2-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/6733/live/0a3bb4d0-d9d2-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/6733/live/0a3bb4d0-d9d2-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/6733/live/0a3bb4d0-d9d2-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/6733/live/0a3bb4d0-d9d2-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="EPA A police armoured vehicle is pictured" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> EPA Police search the house in Bonnyrigg on Sunday night time

It's nonetheless unclear if the weapons used within the assault had been owned by the 2 males, however Sajid Akram owned six registered firearms and held a leisure gun license.

His son, Naveed, was examined over his shut ties to a Sydney-based Islamic State (IS) cell after authorities turned conscious of his exercise in 2019, the ABC reported.

However Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese mentioned an "evaluation was made that there was no indication of any ongoing risk or risk of him participating in violence".

Residents on the in any other case quiet, suburban road have described how the tumult of the final 48 hours has unsettled the neighbourhood.

"My daughter was yelling at me, 'mum look outdoors' and I noticed a lot of police, a lot of vehicles, sirens and loudspeakers calling them to return out," Lemanatua Fatu, who lives reverse the lads, advised the BBC.

"Then I noticed the information - I believed oh my goodness, it could actually't be them."

Further reporting by Gabriela Pomeroy and Thomas Spencer

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