key points
- There is no evidence that the two gunmen, father and son, were from a terrorist cell
- But they appear to be influenced by radical Islamic ideology, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said
- People continue to pay tribute to the victims on Bondi Beach
- Sydney Opera House lit up with menorah candles on the second day of Hanukkah
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said two attackers who opened fire on Bondi Beach on Sunday evening appeared to be motivated by “Islamic State ideology”.
Albanese had previously said there was no evidence the father and son were part of an IS cell.
But in an interview with national broadcaster ABC on Tuesday morning, he said, “It appears that it was inspired by the ideology of Islamic State.”
The 24-year-old son was investigated by Australia’s intelligence agency ASIO in 2019. But ASIO did not put him on the watch list.
“He caught their attention because of his connection with others,” Albanese said. “Two of the people he was associated with were charged and went to jail, but he was not viewed as a person of interest at the time.”
According to the ABC, two IS flags were found in the shooter’s car on Bondi Beach.
Police have not yet given any reason for Sunday’s mass shooting. But he says it was clearly an anti-Semitic, terroristic act on Sydney’s Jewish community. They have also not officially revealed the names of the two shooters, although Australian media have identified them.
The police shot and killed the 50-year-old father on the spot. The son’s condition is serious but stable in the hospital under police protection.
Community mourns victims of Bondi shooting
Dozens of people lined up at Bondi Beach on Tuesday morning to mourn the 15 people killed and others injured in the terrorist attack.
They included 25-year-old Olivia Robertson, who visited the memorial before work.
“This is the country where our grandparents came to make us feel safe and have opportunity,” he said. “My heart is torn…it’s crazy.”
Their tributes and messages were added to the huge mound of flowers outside the iconic Bondi Pavilion near the shooting site.
More than 1,000 people gathered outside the pavilion on Monday evening.
Rabbi Yossi Shuchat addressed the crowd and lit the menorah candles on the second day of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights.
He said, “Light will always exist; where there is light there can be no darkness.”
A menorah was also projected at the Sydney Opera House to pay tribute to the victims.
Edited by: Kieran Burke