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A father-son duo is believed to be responsible for the mass shooting targeting Jewish victims at Bondi Beach in Australia, which resulted in at least 15 deaths, authorities confirmed via the New York Post.
Naveed Akram, 24, and his father, 50, who was not publicly named, are believed to be the two shooters who opened fire during the "Chanukah by the Sea 2025" event celebrating the first night of the Jewish holiday, at around 6:45 p.m. local time on Sunday (December 14). Akram is reportedly hospitalized in critical condition while his father was killed in a shootout with police.
The 15 casualties are reported to have ranged between ages 10 to 87, most of whom are believed to be Jewish. A video shared online shows a good Samaritan, identified as Ahmed al Ahmed, of Sydney, disarming one of the suspects during the incident.
Thousands of beachgoers fled after shots were fired. The gunmen were reported to be wearing dark shirts with one wearing white pants and perched on a pedestrian bridge overlooking the event, which took place near a playground.
Authorities said that one of the suspected gunmen was on Australia's Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) watchlist but wasn't believed to be "an immediate threat" prior to the shooting. President Donald Trump addressed the incident, as well as the shooting at Brown University and the deaths of three U.S. soldiers in Syria, during a Christmas event at the White House on Sunday.
“I want to just pay my respects to the people, unfortunately, two are no longer with us, Brown University, nine injured, and two are looking down on us right now from Heaven,” Trump said via the New York Post. “And likewise, in Australia, that was a terrible attack. 11 dead, 29 badly wounded, and that was an anti-Semitic attack, obviously. And I just want to pay my respects to everybody.
“It was a rough day.”