In Sydney (Australia), at least 16 people, including a 10-year-old girl, have been killed and 40 injured, including four minors, in a terrorist attack that occurred this Sunday afternoon at Bondi Beach in eastern Sydney, which Australian authorities continue to investigate. The attack occurred at around 6:40 p.m. local time (7:40 GMT) on Sunday, when two armed men with rifles opened fire on the crowd gathered in a park near the famous beach, one of the most popular and touristy in the country. Police officers responded to the attack, and an exchange of fire ensued, in which two police officers were injured. One of the attackers, a 50-year-old man, was killed at the scene after being shot by police, while the second, a 24-year-old, was taken to the hospital under custody with critical injuries, the New South Wales Police - where Sydney is located - said in a statement on Monday. Fourteen people died at the scene and two others, including a 10-year-old girl and a 40-year-old man, died later in the hospital. The police and emergency services are evacuating the Bondi Beach area in Sydney, Australia, where on Sunday at least 10 people have died, including one of the presumed attackers, in a shooting that forced the area to be cordoned off and also caused at least 12 injuries. The victims, not yet formally identified, would be between 10 and 87 years old, and five injured remain in critical condition, according to authorities. The area remains cordoned off as a crime scene, with a large police presence and the intervention of the Joint Counter-Terrorism Team, which has seized three firearms for forensic analysis. Authorities have asked for public cooperation as the investigation progresses. The Commissioner of the New South Wales Police, Mal Lanyon, confirmed on Sunday that the incident took place in Archer Park, next to Bondi Beach, during a celebration for the start of the Jewish Hanukkah festival, where about a thousand people were present. "At 9:36 p.m. tonight, I formally declared this incident a terrorist incident," Lanyon said at a press conference on Sunday, explaining that special powers were activated to ensure "there is no additional threat to the community." Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that the attack "has struck the heart of our nation" and described it as "an act of terrorism and antisemitism." "An attack on Australian Jews is an attack on all Australians," Albanese said after convening an urgent National Security Committee, while promising that the Government will use "all necessary resources to ensure the safety of the Jewish community." The attack in Bondi is the deadliest shooting in Australia in almost 30 years, since the Port Arthur massacre (Tasmania, south) in 1996, which left 35 dead.
