AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Over 24 hours have passed since shooters attacked a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. With at least 15 dead and dozens injured, it is the deadliest mass shooting in Australia in almost three decades. For the latest on this story, we're joined now by reporter Katie Silver in Sydney. Hi, Katie.
KATIE SILVER: Hi there.
CHANG: OK. Can you just catch us up on what we have learned so far since this massacre unfolded yesterday?
SILVER: Yes. So we understand it was a father and son duo that performed at the two gunmen. It's now 36 hours since it occurred Sunday evening local time in Australia. So a father and son duo, Sajid Akram and Naveed. Now, we understand that the father, who's 50 years old and came to Australia on a student visa, had six firearm licenses and that they used, it appears, those six firearms as part of the attack. We can see in the video, primarily, them using a shotgun and a hunting rifle.
So, as I say, he came on a student visa. He was then shot dead by the authorities. He wasn't known to police, but his 24-year-old son, Naveed, who was born in Australia - we found out he was investigated in 2019 over fears of radicalization. And we have since seen a video emerge of him pledging allegiance to ISIS, as I say, way back, six years ago. Now, he was investigated at the time, and it was ruled by Australia's security services that he wasn't seen as a credible threat. And that now is something that authorities are trying to work out how this happened, and they've been heavily criticized for this. I've also heard that they found two ISIS flags in the car.
CHANG: Just to remind everyone, this happened during a celebration marking the first night of Hanukkah. What are you hearing from members of the Jewish community there?
SILVER: They are reeling and torn apart. The scenes, particularly, for example, prior to when gunfire broke out, it was a very jovial affair. There were a thousand people in attendance at this event, Hanukkah by the Sea. I spoke yesterday to an Israeli tourist who had been there visiting. They were really celebrating. It looked like a beautiful, beautiful, lovely event on the beach in Sydney. Now, absolute anger and devastation, as you can imagine.
Last night, I was at a vigil, which was led by the Jewish leaders in Sydney. There was singing of traditional Jewish songs. They led the crowds in clapping. There were thousands of people there. They also sang the Australian anthem a couple of times, which I think was to indicate that they are still in solidarity with Australia, although they are very, very angry, as you can imagine...
CHANG: Yeah.
SILVER: ...Because they say that the government ignored warnings of antisemitism. There was a report earlier this year that gave some recommendations that the government should follow in order to try and reduce antisemitism in Australia. And the Jewish community say that they fundamentally didn't do that.
CHANG: Can we talk about that? How have government officials in Australia been responding to this mass shooting, particularly with the anger about how they've responded earlier?
SILVER: It's been a very tricky situation. They say, for example, that there's been - they have condemned the attack significantly, saying there's no place for evil antisemitism. It needs to be stamped out. But we did see some politicians heckled and booed by the crowd yesterday evening at the vigil. They've also promised reform, particularly when it comes to gun control. Australia, of course, has been the poster child when it comes to the efficacy of gun control and then reducing the...
CHANG: Right.
SILVER: ...Incidence of mass shootings.
CHANG: Right.
SILVER: And now they have promised to reform gun control laws, as well. That's been a big part of it, as well.
CHANG: That is reporter Katie Silver in Sydney. Thank you so much, Katie.
SILVER: Thanks for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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