A man who disarmed a gunman during an attack on Australia’s famous Bondi Beach on Sunday has been hailed as a “true hero” by New South Wales Premier Chris Minns.
Authorities declared the shooting an act of terrorism and said the attack, which killed at least 11 people, was planned to “target” Jews. At the time of the attack, events were underway at Bondi Beach to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah.
Dramatic video reviewed by NBC News appears to show multiple gunmen and the moment a gunman is disarmed by another person.
The footage shows a man wearing a white T-shirt crouching behind a parked car and pouncing on one of the alleged gunmen from behind. After a brief struggle, he took the weapon away. The shooter then backed away before the man placed the weapon next to a palm tree.
Video shows a second gunman standing on the bridge firing repeatedly at people trying to intervene, and a gunfight appears to continue.
Minns praised the unidentified man for disarming the alleged gunman.
“That man is a true hero. I have no doubt that many people are alive tonight because of his courage,” he said.
A man believed to be one of the attackers has died, according to New South Wales Police. The second shooting suspect is in critical condition. Neither has been publicly identified.
More than 1,000 people gathered at Bondi Beach on Sunday night for an event to mark the beginning of Hanukkah.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the violence as a “vicious act of anti-Semitism” and vowed Australia would eradicate “hatred, violence and terrorism.”
“As prime minister, on behalf of all Australians, I say to the Jewish community, ‘We stand with you,'” he told a news conference on Sunday, adding that a national security committee had been convened as a matter of emergency on Sunday night.
World leaders and other officials also expressed condolences and condemned the attack.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “Anti-Semitism has no place in this world.”
“The United States strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Australia that targeted a Jewish holiday,” he said in a post on X. “Our prayers go out to the victims of this horrific attack, the Jewish community, and the Australian people.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said France’s “thoughts are with the victims, the injured and their loved ones,” adding that France would continue to fight anti-Semitic hatred “wherever it has been hit.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the violence “an extremely brutal attack on the Jewish people,” and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the “heinous and deadly attack.”
Bondi Beach is one of Australia’s most iconic beaches and will welcome more than 2 million visitors in 2024.
The Bondi Beach shooting, in which 11 people were confirmed dead, was the deadliest mass shooting in Australia since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, when 35 people were killed and dozens injured.
In this attack, a lone gunman opened fire in a Tasmanian town. In response to the incident, the government introduced some of the strictest gun control measures in the world, and the number of gun attacks has since plummeted.
