Bondi Beach attack: What do we know about the victims, suspects?

Australia is mourning the victims of Sydney’s Bondi Beach attack.

Vigils were held a day after two armed men killed 15 people at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration on Sunday.

At least 40 people remain in hospital following the attack, including two police officers who are in a serious but stable condition, police said. They said the shooting suspects are a father-son duo.

Here is what we know about the victims and the shooting suspects.

What do we know about the Bondi Beach shooting victims?

The victims were aged between 10 and 87 years, according to the police. Here is what we know about eight of the 15 victims, based on local media reports:

Rabbi Eli Schlanger

The 41-year-old was an assistant rabbi at Chabad Bondi, a global Jewish organisation that had organised Sunday’s event at a park near the famous beach. Schlanger was British-born but had lived in Sydney for the past 18 years, and had recently become a father for the fifth time.

His friend Alex Ryvchin, who is also co-CEO of the executive council of Australian Jewry, said that Schlanger spent time with prisoners in jails and the elderly at the public housing societies. “He would listen to their stories, feed them and make sure they had meals and kosher products. He was the sort of person who illuminated our lives with kindness, his grace and generosity,” Ryvchin said.

Schlanger’s brother-in-law, Rabbi Mendel Kastel, said the family was “broken”. “They have fallen apart,” Kastel told the Reuters news agency.

Peter Meagher

A retired policeman and longtime rugby volunteer, Meagher was struck down while working as a freelance photographer at the event, Randwick Rugby Club said in a statement.

“‘Marzo’ as he was universally known, was a much loved figure and absolute legend in our club, with decades of voluntary involvement, he was one of the heart and soul figures of Randwick Rugby,” the club said.

“The tragic irony is that he spent so long in the dangerous front line as a Police Officer and was struck down in retirement while taking photos in his passion role is really hard to comprehend,” it said.

“For him it was simply a catastrophic case of being in the wrong place and at the wrong time.”

Dan Elkayam

French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed that a French national, Dan Elkayam, was killed in the attack.

Elkayam, who local media reported was in his late 20s and had gone down to celebrate at the festival, had been providing technical support to global media company NBC Universal in Sydney since last December, according to his LinkedIn page.

He played with the Rockdale Ilinden Football Club premier league squad, where he was “an extremely talented and popular figure”, the club said on social media.

Matilda

A primary school student, 10-year-old Matilda, died on Sunday night, her aunt confirmed on social media.

In a statement posted on Facebook, the Harmony Russian School of Sydney said Matilda was a former student. “We honor her life and the time she spent as part of our school family,” the post said.

In local media reports, she has been described as a “bright, joyful, and spirited child who brought light to those around her”.

Reuven Morrison

A Chabad report described Morrison, another victim, as “a member of the Chabad community who divided his time between Melbourne and Sydney”.

Alex Kleytman

The 87-year-old Holocaust survivor attended Sunday’s event with his wife, Larisa, also a Holocaust survivor, their children and grandchildren, Chabad and local media reported.

The couple had recounted their experiences to aged-care provider JewishCare, which referred to Alex’s harrowing memories of the “dreadful conditions in Siberia, where he, along with his mother and younger brother, struggled for survival”.

The “scars of the past” did not deter them from seeking a brighter future in Australia, as they emigrated from Ukraine, JewishCare wrote in its 2022-23 annual report.

Rabbi Yaakov Levitan

Levitan served as secretary of the Sydney Jewish religious organisation Beth Din, Chabad said.

Tibor Weitzen

Weitzen has been identified as one of the victims after he was fatally wounded while shielding his wife from the gunfire, who survived the attack, the Daily Mail reported.

What do we know about the Bondi Beach attack suspects?

During a news conference on Monday, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said the suspects were a 50-year-old and his 24-year-old son.

“What’s really important is to say we do have a 24-year-old male in hospital at the moment,” Lanyon said.

“Based on his medical condition, it is likely that that person may face criminal charges. I’m very mindful of not prejudicing any prosecution of that person, if they’re put before the court.”

Lanyon added that the father, who was killed by police at the scene, “is a licensed firearms holder who had six firearms licensed to him”, emphasising that he “met the eligibility criteria for a firearms licence”.

He said authorities were not looking for any other suspect.

Some Australian news outlets, including the public broadcaster ABC, identified the suspects as Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24. However, the authorities have not confirmed their identities.