Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Monday that he had met with leaders of the country’s states and territories, and the group agreed to “strengthen gun laws across the country.”
They plan to introduce even more stringent background checks, bar non-citizens from obtaining firearms licenses, and further limit the types of weapons individuals can own.
The announcement came the day after an anti-Semitic attack on Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach that left 15 people dead.
Jewish Hanukkah festival targeted
About 1,000 people had gathered to celebrate the first night of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.
The two gunmen, identified only as a 50-year-old and 24-year-old father and son, began firing into the crowd.
The elderly suspect reportedly died during the incident and his son is in hospital in critical condition.
Fifteen people were killed, including a Holocaust survivor, a local rabbi, and a 10-year-old girl.
While authorities are still investigating a motive, Albanese called it “an act of pure evil, an act of anti-Semitism, an act of terrorism on our shores.”
Police asked people not to jump to conclusions after several incidents of Islamophobic vandalism were reported on Monday.
The viewer was hailed as a hero
As panicked people fled the beach, some people came from behind to console and help the injured.
Local shop owner Ahmed al-Ahmad was then seen approaching one of the gunmen. A 43-year-old father, who had no experience with guns, snatched the gun from the attacker’s hands.
At a press conference on Sunday, New South Wales state Premier Chris Minns described Al-Ahmad as a “real hero”.
He said, “This is the most incredible sight I have ever seen – a man approaching a gunman who had opened fire on the community and single-handedly disarming him, risking his own life to save the lives of countless others.”
Al-Ahmad’s family said he was stable and recovering in a local hospital, having been shot in the process of disarming the attacker.
World leaders expressed solidarity
“This attack was designed to target Sydney’s Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah,” Minns said.
“What was supposed to be a night of peace and joy in that community with families and supporters has been shattered,” he said.
World leaders expressed their solidarity with those affected by the attack.
“Europe stands with Australia and Jewish communities everywhere. We are united against violence, anti-Semitism and hatred,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on social media.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also strongly condemned the attack and expressed condolences to the victims and their families.
Joseph Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said, “We must understand that this attack on the Hanukkah celebration did not happen by chance. Choosing holidays for the murder of innocent and helpless people is a pattern of anti-Semitic terror.”
“As the Jewish community in Germany, our thoughts go out to our brothers and sisters in Australia,” he said.
What are Australia’s current gun laws?
Australia, seen as the gold standard internationally, has had nearly identical laws in place since a 1996 mass shooting in Tasmania left 35 people dead.
The government initiated a large-scale buyback scheme for firearms, established background checks and national registries for firearms, and restricted access to automatic and semi-automatic weapons.
Edited by: Wesley Rahn