'I knew something was seriously wrong - again': Bondi area reels from two deadly attacks in two years

As helicopters circled overhead, sirens descended on her suburb, and people ran screaming down her street on 14 December, Mary felt a grim sense of deja vu.

That was when I knew there was something seriously wrong – again, she says, her eyes brimming with tears.

Mary - who did not want to give her real name - was at the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre in April last year when six people were stabbed to death by a man in psychosis, a tragedy still fresh in the minds of many.

Findings from a coroner's inquest into the incident were due to be delivered this week, but were delayed after two gunmen unleashed a hail of bullets on an event marking the start of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah eight days ago.

Declared a terror attack by police, 15 people were shot and killed, including a 10-year-old girl who still had face paint curling around her eyes.

The first paramedic to confront the bloody scenes at the Chanukah by the Sea event was also the first paramedic on the scene at the Westfield stabbings.

You just wouldn't even fathom that something like this would happen, 31-year-old Mary, who is originally from the UK, tells the BBC. I say constantly to my family at home how safe it is here. This was the overarching sentiment in the days following the shooting. This kind of thing, mass murder, just doesn't happen in Australia.

But it can and it has – twice, in the same community, within 18 months. A sea of flowers left by shocked and grieving people at Bondi is being packed up. A national day of reflection is over.

Bondi, Australia’s most famous beach, has thus become a site of mourning. Mayor Will Nemesh noted that everyone knows someone affected by the recent tragedy, underscoring the deep communal ties in the area.

In light of these harrowing events, there is an urgent call for more effective measures to combat rising antisemitism, echoing sentiments that the previous warnings were not heeded.

There is a shared determination among the community to not let this trauma define them, focusing instead on healing and unity.

Surfers and swimmers have taken to the water in solidarity, while memorials continue to grow, reflecting both grief and commitment to a safer future.

Yet as anger brews against the government's perceived inaction, there remains a glimmer of hope among residents eager for positive change.