A 10-year-old girl and two Holocaust survivors are among the 15 people killed in a shooting at a Jewish Hanukkah festival on Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
SYDNEY: A 10-year-old girl and two Holocaust survivors were among the 15 people killed in a shooting at a Jewish Hanukkah festival on Bondi Beach.
The gunmen, identified as 50-year-old Sajid Akram and his 24-year-old son Naveed, targeted the gathering on Sunday.
Police killed the elder gunman in a shootout, while his son remains in a coma in hospital.
The victims ranged in age from 10 to 87, with nine individuals publicly identified so far.
Ten-year-old Matilda died in hospital after the attack, which was witnessed by her six-year-old sister.
“She saw everything,” the girls’ aunt Lina Chernykh told Channel Seven.
“I hope people remember Matilda like a beautiful sweet child, beautiful like sunshine.”
Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, 87, was the oldest person killed.
His wife Larisa recounted how he moved to protect her when the shooting started.
Another Holocaust survivor, 82-year-old Marika Pogany, was seated in the front row when the gunmen opened fire.
Reuven Morrison, 62, has been praised for trying to distract the attackers.
“He managed to throw bricks at the terrorist,” his daughter Sheina Gutnick told CBS News.
Tibor Weitzen, 78, was killed while shielding a friend at the event, according to his grandson.
French amateur footballer Dan Elkayam, a French citizen building a new life in Sydney, was also among the dead.
French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to his compatriot on social media.
Retired police detective Peter Meagher was on a freelance photographic assignment at the festival.
His family said they were “heartbroken” by his death.
Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, a 39-year-old father of four, was known for his charitable work.
Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, a community leader and father of five who helped organise the gathering, was also killed.
“Anyone who knew him knew that he was the very best of us,” said Alex Ryvchin from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. – AFP
