It was a night that promised to bring 'joy and light' to Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach as crowds of Jewish families gathered at a park to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah, also known as the festival of light.
They were among thousands of other swimmers, surfers and sunbathers who had flocked to Australia's most famous beach on a scorching summer's afternoon.
But not long after the Hanukkah event kicked off at 17:00 local time and the first free donuts were doled out, festive music was drowned out by the sounds of screams and the echo of gunshots.
It's unclear exactly when the first shot was fired, but the initial call to police was made at 18:47. In the minutes that followed, two gunmen would kill at least 15 people, and injure dozens more, authorities said.
A local high school teacher, Chavi, told the BBC she dropped to the ground to protect her baby as 'bullets were flying above us'.
'It was pandemonium and chaos,' another attendee, who identified himself as Barry, said as he described watching a throng of people trying to escape the scene that had suddenly devolved into a nightmare.
In one video verified by the BBC, upbeat music from the Hanukkah event can still be heard in the background as people crouch down and shots are heard, interspersed between shrieks. The eerily jubilant music continues playing while the camera pans over the grass, revealing prostrate bodies completely still, their condition unclear.
Separate footage shows groups of people lying atop one another on the grass, as one woman tries to cover a young child's head with her hand. Panic soon spread from the park to the sand, where videos show terrified beachgoers sprinting away from the gunfire. Screams, honking car horns, and ambulance sirens filled the air in the chaotic minutes that followed.
Shortly after the attack began, two gunmen, named Sajid and Naveed Akram, allegedly used shotguns to carry out the assault, and they were reported to have fired from a pedestrian bridge overlooking the park.
Police confirmed that one of the gunmen, Sajid Akram, was found dead at the scene while the other remains in critical condition. Eyewitness accounts reveal acts of heroism; one civilian reportedly disarmed Sajid Akram during the chaos, risking his own life.
The community is now left to grieve as investigations are ongoing into the backgrounds of the suspects, with ties to extremist ideologies coming under scrutiny. This shooting marks a dark moment not only for the Jewish community but for the entire city of Sydney, which has witnessed a celebration turn into tragedy.
They were among thousands of other swimmers, surfers and sunbathers who had flocked to Australia's most famous beach on a scorching summer's afternoon.
But not long after the Hanukkah event kicked off at 17:00 local time and the first free donuts were doled out, festive music was drowned out by the sounds of screams and the echo of gunshots.
It's unclear exactly when the first shot was fired, but the initial call to police was made at 18:47. In the minutes that followed, two gunmen would kill at least 15 people, and injure dozens more, authorities said.
A local high school teacher, Chavi, told the BBC she dropped to the ground to protect her baby as 'bullets were flying above us'.
'It was pandemonium and chaos,' another attendee, who identified himself as Barry, said as he described watching a throng of people trying to escape the scene that had suddenly devolved into a nightmare.
In one video verified by the BBC, upbeat music from the Hanukkah event can still be heard in the background as people crouch down and shots are heard, interspersed between shrieks. The eerily jubilant music continues playing while the camera pans over the grass, revealing prostrate bodies completely still, their condition unclear.
Separate footage shows groups of people lying atop one another on the grass, as one woman tries to cover a young child's head with her hand. Panic soon spread from the park to the sand, where videos show terrified beachgoers sprinting away from the gunfire. Screams, honking car horns, and ambulance sirens filled the air in the chaotic minutes that followed.
Shortly after the attack began, two gunmen, named Sajid and Naveed Akram, allegedly used shotguns to carry out the assault, and they were reported to have fired from a pedestrian bridge overlooking the park.
Police confirmed that one of the gunmen, Sajid Akram, was found dead at the scene while the other remains in critical condition. Eyewitness accounts reveal acts of heroism; one civilian reportedly disarmed Sajid Akram during the chaos, risking his own life.
The community is now left to grieve as investigations are ongoing into the backgrounds of the suspects, with ties to extremist ideologies coming under scrutiny. This shooting marks a dark moment not only for the Jewish community but for the entire city of Sydney, which has witnessed a celebration turn into tragedy.
