How eyewitnesses experienced the crime

Sydney attack

Survivors describe “hell on earth”

Gunshots at a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach have left many people in panic. Eyewitnesses report chaos, injuries and minutes of fear.

At least twelve people were killed in an armed attack on a celebration of the Jewish festival of lights Hanukkah on Bondi Beach in Sydney on Sunday. Around 30 others were injured, including two police officers. According to authorities in the state of New South Wales, rescue workers took the injured to hospitals. One of the suspected shooters was killed and another suspect is in critical condition.

Many visitors experienced the crime up close. Sarah Frydman was in Bondi with her daughter to attend a relative’s bar mitzvah. When shots were fired, they and others ran into a building and sought shelter. “People started screaming and shouting at us to go in,” Frydman told ABC. She hid in a room behind a kitchen with dozens of other people for about 30 minutes. “A lot of people were stressed and crying.”

Later, a police officer led her into a hallway and told her to lie down and stay away from the windows. Nathan Zlatkis also found himself in the line of fire. He was in Bondi and went outside to smoke when he heard the shots. “Everyone ran down. Two police officers were lying on the ground next to me… there was blood,” he said. He heard about 50 shots.

Richard Hasten was attending an event called “Hanukkah by the Sea” when the shooting began. He sought cover on the beach. “I was lying there and right in front of me was a woman bleeding,” he said. He took off his shirt to stop the bleeding. According to his assessment, the bullet may have grazed her skull, but she is “fine.” His son was separated from his wife and child and was “hysterical”, but the family has now been reunited.

Other families also tried desperately to find shelter. Heather Nolan said she was eating dinner with her husband when she heard what she initially thought were fireworks. Then she saw people running away from the beach. “There was a wooden bench there. I pushed it aside and sat my children behind it,” she said. A man who was bleeding sat down next to them. They were later taken to changing rooms while many people cried and looked for relatives.

Another eyewitness told the ABC that he protected his family as best he could from the gunmen as they fled the area. The shooting lasted about ten minutes. “It was absolute hell on earth,” he said. He saw people lying in pools of blood.