Bondi Beach shooting latest: Hero who disarmed gunman pictured in hospital - as UK chief rabbi reveals his family survived attack

The Australian prime minister has revealed the surviving gunman in the Bondi Beach attack is in a coma in a wide-ranging television interview.

Appearing on ABC, Anthony Albanese gave more details about the suspected attackers, saying they were "two evil people... driven by ideology" whose actions were the result of an "extreme perversion of Islam". 

There was no evidence of "collusion" or that the father and son were part of "a wider cell", he said, but more would be learnt during the investigation. 

Also during the interview:

• Albanese insisted he couldn't have foreseen an attack like this taking place, saying "the detection wasn't there" because the killers weren't part of a wider cell;
• He said the father, 50, who died during the attack, came to Australia on a student visa in 1998 and the son was born in the country;
• Early reports that someone had dropped them off before the attack were incorrect, he said;
• There were a range of IEDs and "explosive devices" in their car that they intended to use to "cause further damage", he said;
• Albanese said the younger gunman was investigated for six months by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation over his connections to two people who later went to jail, one man for planning terror attacks;
• Advice from the ASIO head was that he was not on a watch list because the investigation uncovered no evidence that he was planning or considering any act of antisemitic violence;
• Neither the father nor son have been on the ASIO's radar since the 7 October Hamas attacks, Albanese said.

Eli Schlanger, the London-born rabbi killed in the attack, was a man "who cared for everybody", the chief minister of Sydney's Great Synagogue said.

"My most recent in-depth conversation was how he was going to provide better facilities for Jewish prisoners," Rabbi Benjamin Elton told Paste BN.

"That is not a glamorous area of rabbinic work but he was dedicated in making sure that Jewish prisoners all over New South Wales were looked after as well as possible."

The 43-year-old also looked after his own community at the Chabad of Bondi Jewish cultural centre, made up of Russian Jews and their descendants, said Elton.

"He would want us to use his memory to spur us to perform more acts of kindness and goodness and charity," Elton added.

Watch the full interview

The New South Wales police force has shared that the two officers who were injured in the attack were in a "serious but stable" condition.

The force has issued a statement on behalf of their families, who wished to pass on their "thoughts to the loved ones of those who were killed and injured in the Bondi shooting tragedy", it says. 

They also extend thanks to first responders and medics treating the victims.

In all, 26 people remain in hospital, according to New South Wales's health service.

The president of Slovakia, Peter Pellegrini, has confirmed one of the victims was a Slovak woman, writing online:

"Today, that grief has reached Slovakia as well - among the victims of this senseless, violent rampage was a Slovak woman, Marika."

Australian media had previously identified the woman as 82-year-old Marika Pongany.

She was a volunteer for Meals on Wheels and delivered more than 12,000 kosher meals, 9News reported.

With the number of people killed in Bondi Beach standing at 15, the attack is now among Australia's worst mass shootings and certainly the worst in the 21st century.

Shootings are rare in the country, where gun laws were significantly tightened after a devastating attack in the 1990s.

Here's a rundown of the most prominent incidents so far:

Port Arthur massacre

In 1996, gunman Martin Bryant shot 35 people and injured 23 in the town of Port Arthur on the Australian island of Tasmania. The motivation behind the attack remains somewhat unconfirmed.

The attack led to a watershed tightening in Australia's gun laws. Semiautomatic and pump-action shotguns and rifles were banned and more than 700,000 firearms were surrendered under a buyback scheme.

Wieambilla ambush

The attack had been Australia's most recent prominent shooting, until the Bondi Beach attack. 

Two police officers were ambushed and killed during a routine visit in the rural settlement of Wieambilla. One civilian also died.

The three attackers were shot and killed by police after an extended standoff. 

The attack was long deemed a Christian fundamentalist terror attack, but an investigation found last month that the trio believed to be acting "defensively within their delusional framework".

Watch: Bondi attackers were father and son

Sydney Lindt Cafe siege

Sydney was previously haunted by another shooting, which took place in 2014. 

A self-styled Muslim cleric held employees and customers at the Lindt Cafe hostage for more than 16 hours. He was described as psychopathic and narcissistic.

The attacker shot the cafe's manager before being killed by police while another employee was killed by a stray police bullet.

Other notable shootings included...

• Queen Street massacre: In 1987, a gunman killed eight people at a Melbourne post office and killed himself after being disarmed.
• Hoddle Street massacre: A gunman opened fire on motorists and pedestrians in a Melbourne suburb, killing seven and injuring others before capture in 1987.
• Osmington shooting: Six people were killed in 2018 when a man shot his wife, daughter and four grandchildren in Osmington, a rural settlement. He killed himself.

People continue to gather at the memorial for the attack's victims at Bondi Pavilion to pay their respects.

The rabbi at Sydney's Central Synagogue, Levi Wolff, lit a menorah, the multi-branched candelabrum closely associated with Hanukkah, at Bondi Pavilion.

People from different faith groups have also been pictured praying. 

In a news conference earlier today, Anthony Albanese shared more details on the background of the gunmen - see our post at 3.12.

Notably, the Australian prime minister also revealed that 24-year-old Naveed Akram, the younger suspect, was known to security agencies and investigated over his links to certain associates.

Watch Albanese's explanation in the video...

Ephraim Mirvis, the UK's chief rabbi, has revealed his family were caught up in the terror attack.

He told Mornings With Ridge and Frost he was flying to Sydney tomorrow after the "devastating" attack to be with the Jewish community in its seven-day period of mourning.

"Last night, my wife was checking up on family of ours - I have a cousin and his wife in Sydney. 'How are you?' And they said they were at the event," he said.

"For 15 terrifying minutes they were hiding under a doughnut stand, as people to their right and left were being shot dead. 

"This morning they went to synagogue to say prayers of gratitude, but they were among the fortunate ones. So we're feeling this very deeply right now."

Asked if he was fearful that a similar attack could happen in the UK, Mirvis said: "I'm fearful for all of our society. This is not a Jewish problem. It's a problem for all of our society."

Watch the full interview

Anthony Albanese has once more underlined his solidarity with the Jewish community targeted in the shooting.

Posting on social media, the Australian prime minister said he lit a candle in his window "in solidarity", as is custom during the eight nights of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.

"Tonight and over the coming days, we are holding the Jewish community close," Albanese wrote.

The prime minister faced criticism over his past relationship with the Jewish community, however.

Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, accused Albanese of pouring "fuel on the antisemitism fire" when he recognised Palestinian statehood in September.

During an interview on ABC this evening, Albanese was asked if he accepted a link.

"No I don't," the prime minister responded.

"And overwhelmingly, most of the world recognises a two-state solution as being the way forward in the Middle East."