Dyson’s wife, also a police officer, is pregnant, acting president of the NSW Police Association Ian Allwood said. Allwood said Dyson is in intensive care and potentially faces a months-long recovery.
The 25-year-old is a talented water polo player who once represented Australia.
Who were the victims?
The youngest innocent life lost was that of 10-year-old Matilda, a former student of Bellevue Hill’s Harmony Russian School.
Matilda pictured shortly before the Bondi massacre unfolded.Credit: Marija Ercegovac
The family (aunt, grandfather, cousin, cousin, and grandmother) of Matilda gather with mourners in Sydney.Credit: Fairfax Media
Shortly before bullets began raining down on the Hanukkah celebrations, Matilda was pictured playing with animals at the petting zoo set up at the festival.
Speaking at Bondi Beach, her aunt, Lina Chernykh, said she wanted to “spread happiness” like her niece’s smile.
“All people, just think about your kids here, think about how precious they are … just turn to [the] next person and give them a smile, and I hope we can too, one day.”
Frenchman Dan Elkayam.Credit: Instagram
French national Dan Elkayam, in his late 20s, was an IT analyst for NBC Universal. He grew up in Paris and had been living in Australia with his girlfriend for several years. He was remembered as a star soccer player.
Many victims were members of Sydney’s Jewish community, including 41-year-old father of five Eli Schlanger, assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi. His wife, who gave birth to the couple’s youngest son six weeks ago, was also injured.
Businessman Reuven Morrison came from the Soviet Union before he “discovered his Jewish identity in Sydney”, Chabad reported. Morrison’s daughter identified her father as the man seen in footage hurling an object at gunman Sajid Akram after he was disarmed.
Holocaust survivor and Ukraine native Alex Kleytman, as well as 78-year-old grandfather Tibor Weitzen, also reportedly died shielding others from bullets.
Rabbi Yaakov Levitan served as secretary of the Sydney Beth Din (a rabbinic court) and worked at the BINA Centre of Jewish learning.
Grandfather Tibor Weitzen, 78. Credit: Courtesy of the Australian Jewish Association
Marika Pogany has been remembered as a dedicated volunteer.Credit: Facebook
Randwick Rugby Club confirmed the death of retired police detective and rugby union player Peter Meagher, known as Marzo.
Marika Pogany, 82, was remembered as a dedicated volunteer.
On Tuesday afternoon, Edith Brutman was identified as another victim. She was the vice president of an anti-prejudice and anti-discrimination committee at B’nai B’rith NSW – the NSW branch of the international Jewish community service organisation.
Boris and Sofia Gurman, a Russian-Jewish couple living in Bondi, were also identified on Tuesday as victims, having bravely attempted to stop the shooting by tackling Sajid Akram and disarming him after he emerged from a car with an Islamic State flag draped across its windscreen.
Boris and Sofia Gurman were killed after attempting to restrain Sajid Akram before he opened fire on the Hanukkah festival.
Edith Brutman (second from left) has been remembered as a devoted and passionate member of the Jewish community.Credit: JNF Australia
Who are the shooters, Naveed Akram and Sajid Akram?
The two gunmen are father and son, 24-year-old Naveed Akram and 50-year-old Sajid Akram. They lived in Bonnyrigg in Sydney’s west with Naveed’s mother and two siblings.
Current intelligence suggests they acted alone, but Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said this may change as the investigation continues.
Sajid, who arrived in Australia on a student visa in 1998 and held a resident return visa, was shot and died at the scene. The fruiterer held a firearms licence for recreational hunting, legally possessed six guns – several of which were brought to Bondi – and was a member of a gun club, Lanyon said.
Naveed Akram has been identified as one of the alleged gunmen.Credit:
Naveed, a recently unemployed bricklayer, was born in Australia.
He was shot at the scene and taken to hospital in a critical condition. Police confirmed he awoke from his coma on Tuesday afternoon. Police have previously said Naveed was expected to be charged once he regained consciousness. It is unclear what condition he is in, or when he may be charged.
Police are investigating potential links to Islamic extremists after the pair travelled to the Philippines in November and a flag was found alongside improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in their car at Bondi Beach. The IEDs were seized, alongside several firearms.
Naveed came to ASIO’s attention in 2019, after preaching with a group linked to a religious centre once tied to an Islamic State cell.
He was flagged by authorities around the time a cell of IS acolytes was discovered in Sydney’s west, multiple sources briefed on the Bondi shooting investigation confirmed.
Among those arrested was self-appointed commander of IS in Australia, Isaac el Matari, who plotted to carry out a terror attack in Sydney’s CBD.
Police removing evidence from a short-term rental at Campsie.Credit: Nine News
Sources say Naveed moved in similar circles as Matari and other men charged, but was not deemed dangerous enough to warrant a criminal charge.
Police sources also told this masthead the Akrams had prepared a manifesto before the massacre.
Last weekend, the father and son told family they were heading on a fishing trip when, in fact, they were staying at a short-term rental in Campsie as they planned their attack. Counterterrorism police seized two guns from the property.
Asked by journalists whether there was a failure of intelligence because the Philippines trip had not triggering alarm bells, Lanyon said “not at all”.
“We’re talking about something that’s retrospective, post what is a horrific crime,” he said.
What do we know about the hero bystanders and police officers?
Footage has emerged showing a brave couple who died attempting to stop Sajid by tackling him as he emerged armed from a car, draped in the Islamic State flag, on Campbell Parade.
They have since been identified as Boris and Sofia Gurman.
The couple is seen moving towards the gunman, pushing him onto the road and forcing the rifle from his hands. Drone footage later showed the pair lying dead on the pavement.
A couple tries to stop one of the gunmen. Credit:
Earlier identified was hero Ahmed al Ahmed, who tackled and wrestled a long-arm rifle from one of the Bondi shooters and was left seriously injured.
Through his immigration lawyer, the 44-year-old said that he would do it again, despite being “riddled with bullets”.
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said Ahmed was “still in pain” and had “lots of challenges ahead”.
Father of two Ahmed al Ahmed recovering from gunshot wounds.
As of Tuesday, more than 30,000 people had donated more than $1.9 million to an online GoFundMe crowdfunding page set up for Ahmed by CarHub Australia.
Ahmed is understood to have no experience with guns and was at Bondi to grab a coffee with his cousin, Jozay Alkanj, when the terror unfolded. Alkanj said Ahmed told him he was “going to die” and to tell his family he “went down to save people’s lives”.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier Chris Minns visited Ahmed at St George Hospital.
The moment a hero police officer gunned down Sajid has also appeared in footage circulating social media.
The officer, believed to be a Bondi detective, took cover against a tree before firing his service weapon towards the footbridge.
Other footage filmed from several angles and reviewed by this masthead appears to show Sajid collapse after the shot is fired.
Police have not formally identified the officer who killed Sajid. However, Minns said they “engaged the gunman on the footbridge with handguns”.
Minns was responding to questions from journalists about security at the Hanukkah event, and said suggestions police did not “live up to their responsibilities” should be rejected.
“Now there are two officers in critical care … They weren’t shot in the back as they were running away … They were shot in the front.”
Where at Bondi Beach did the shooting take place?
Footage showed two men firing what appeared to be rifles from the pedestrian bridge linking Campbell Parade and Bondi Pavilion.
The map below shows where the incident unfolded within the broader context of Bondi:
What have people said about it?
Albanese condemned the “act of evil antisemitism” against Jewish Australians and “every Australian”, while Minns said hearts were bleeding for the Jewish community.
US President Donald Trump sent well-wishes to Albanese and Australians over the “terrible” and antisemitic shooting.
On Tuesday, former prime minister John Howard said the death toll would have been “infinitely bigger” if not for the landmark gun reforms his government introduced following the 1996 Port Arthur Massacre. He described Albanese’s “greatest failure” as not providing the “moral leadership” to denounce antisemitism.
Former Australian prime minister John Howard at the Bondi Pavilion memorial site.Credit: James Brickwood
AFP commissioner Barrett said the massacre was a “barbaric attack against Jewish Australians” and warned against misinformation that could fuel “retribution-type incidences”.
“Early indications point to a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State … these are the alleged actions of those who have aligned themselves with a terrorist organisation, not a religion.”
Jewish Community Council of Victoria president Philip Zajac said that, in the many cases of hate he has seen on Melbourne’s streets, not one perpetrator has faced a single consequence, including criminal charges.
Co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry Alex Ryvchin feared that the “shredded” Jewish community may never recover.
Jewish community leaders Alex Ryvchin (left) and David Ossip.Credit: Oscar Colman
Rabbi Mendel Kastel, chief executive of Jewish House, who lost multiple family members in the shooting, said it was easy to “become very angry” and “blame people”, but this was “not what this is about”.
Wentworth MP Allegra Spender said the profound and awful mass shooting was an attack on modern Australia and our values, telling Nine News the federal government should have done more in response to a report from Australia’s special envoy to combat antisemitism, Jillian Segal.
What next steps will authorities take?
Minns and Albanese have both vowed to strengthen gun laws. The National Firearms Agreement established after the Port Arthur massacre will be renegotiated, and NSW parliament may be recalled to pass urgent legislation.
All states and territories have agreed to look at options to cap the maximum number of guns owned by one person, limit the types of guns deemed legal and make Australian citizenship a condition of holding a gun licence.
Sixteen people have been confirmed killed, including one of the gunmen.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
On Tuesday, Minns flagged changes that may allow police to use criminal intelligence, not just criminal records, to deny gun licences.
The Albanese government vowed to crack down on firearms imports, 3D printing and equipment that can hold large amounts of ammunition.
A pledge was also made to eradicate antisemitism, hate, violence and terrorism.
Meanwhile, Lanyon promised a “very thorough and transparent investigation” into the massacre. He could not tell journalists when the first police officer arrived after the first shots were fired.
“We had an appropriate policing response to ensure that police were moving through there, working closely with the community … had there been intelligence that there was a particular threat of that location or to that event, we may have had a different policing response,” he said.
Police confirmed the Joint Counter Terrorism Team had begun an investigation, led by NSW Police and including the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the NSW Crime Commission.
More coverage on the Bondi terror attack
Bondi Beach incident helplines:
- Bondi Beach Victim Services on 1800 411 822
- Bondi Beach Public Information & Enquiry Centre on 1800 227 228
- NSW Mental Health Line on 1800 011 511 or Lifeline on 13 11 14
- Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 or chat online at kidshelpline.com.au
