Australia to enact tougher gun laws after terror attack on Hanukkah celebration

Australia will enact tougher gun laws after a terror attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, leaving at least 15 people dead, nine federal and state government leaders said Monday.

The leaders added after an emergency meeting that this will include renegotiating a national firearms agreement that virtually banned rapid-fire rifles following a 1996 shooting that killed 35 people, according to the Associated Press.

The shooting at Bondi Beach on Sunday occurred while hundreds gathered for the “Chanukah by the Sea” event to celebrate Hanukkah. At least 38 people, including two police officers, were hospitalized after being wounded in the shooting, in addition to those fatally shot. 

The suspected gunmen are a 50-year-old man and his 24-year-old son, the former of whom is dead and the latter is hospitalized in a coma after police shot them, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday. Their names have not been made public.

Albanese said that the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the country's main domestic spy agency, had investigated the son for six months in 2019.

According to Australian Broadcasting Corp., ASIO had examined the son’s ties to a Sydney-based Islamic State group cell. Albanese did not describe the son’s associates, but said ASIO was interested in them rather than him.

“He was examined on the basis of being associated with others and the assessment was made that there was no indication of any ongoing threat or threat of him engaging in violence,” Albanese said.

The father had held a gun license for a decade and obtained his six guns legally, but the son does not have a gun license.

Albanese proposed new gun restrictions, including restricting the number of guns a licensed owner can own and reviewing existing licenses over time.

“The government is prepared to take whatever action is necessary. Included in that is the need for tougher gun laws,” Albanese said.

The father immigrated to Australia in 1998 on a student visa and became a permanent resident after marrying a local woman. Officials refuse to confirm the father's native country. His son is an Australian-born citizen.

The nine government leaders also proposed the “additional use of criminal intelligence” in determining who is eligible for a gun license, possibly meaning that the son’s associates could disqualify the father from owning a gun.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said his state’s gun laws would change, but could not yet provide details.