‘I couldn’t imagine I would lose my daughter here’ says mother of youngest attack victim Matilda
Kelly Burke
“I couldn’t imagine I would lose my daughter here,” Matilda’s mother tells the crowd at the Bondi Pavilion memorial.
She continues:
I can’t imagine what is a monster that stands on that bridge, and seeing a little girl running for her father to hide with him, and he just pulled the trigger on her … it wasn’t an accident, it wasn’t just a bullet, fired from a hill … it stays here [in my heart], it just stays here and here.
She cannot go on speaking.
Matilda’s mother outside the memorial at Bondi Pavilion. Photograph: Audrey Richardson/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 10.25 CET
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More than 20,000 Australians book blood donation appointments
As Sydney reeled from the Bondi beach terror attack, Sarah sat at home in the city’s inner west, feeling helpless.
So on Monday, the 59-year-old doctor rolled up her sleeve and made the same decision as thousands of other Australians: to donate blood. She felt giving blood was the least she could do.
More than 20,000 people across Australia have made an appointment to donate blood in the wake of the mass shooting in which 16 people were killed, including one of the alleged gunmen.
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Indian police say gunman’s family had no idea of radicalisation
Indian police have issued a statement on the gunman who was killed by police, Sajid Akram, saying he was originally from Hyderabad in India.
According to Reuters, the police statement says he visited India six times after migrating to Australia and Indian police have no record on him before he left the country.
His family in India also had no knowledge about the circumstances which led to his radicalisation.
As reported earlier, Sajid and his son travelled to the Philippines last month, where Sajid entered on an Indian passport.
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Updated at 12.13 CET
Dashcam video shows efforts by killed couple to fight gunman
Dramatic footage has emerged of the married couple who lost their lives trying to fight a gunman during the early stages of the shooting.
Their family have identified them as Boris Gurman, 69, and Sofia Gurman, 61 – a retired Bondi mechanic and post office staffer, who had been married for 34 years.
Dashcam footage shows couple attempting to stop Bondi gunman – video
The video shows the moment Boris, wearing a purple shirt, tackled shooter Sajid Akram on Campbell Parade as he emerged from his car, which had an Islamic State flag draped over the windscreen.
Boris appears to push Akram on to the road and wrestle a gun from his hands. Sofia was also involved in the confrontation.
The footage was posted to Chinese social media by a Sydney resident whose dashcam unexpectedly caught the incident. “Such civilian heroes shouldn’t be forgotten,” she wrote in Mandarin on the post. “I’m truly heartbroken.”
The Gurman’s family said in a statement:
In recent days, we have become aware of footage showing Boris, with Sofia by his side, courageously attempting to disarm an attacker in an effort to protect others.”
“While nothing can lessen the pain of losing Boris and Sofia, we feel an overwhelming sense of pride in their bravery and selflessness. This encapsulates who Boris and Sofia were – people who instinctively and selflessly tried to help others.
Boris and Sofia Gurman Photograph: GofundmeShare
Updated at 12.05 CET
Here’s the video again from earlier today of the Australian prime minister visiting Ahmed al- Ahmed, the man who disarmed one of the shooters, in hospital.
His shop in Sydney’s southern Sutherland Shire has been plastered with messages of thanks from locals, and online donations from supporters worldwide have surged past A$2.2million.
Prime minister meets the ‘Australian hero’ Ahmed al-Ahmed in hospital – video
Albanese described Ahmed as “the best of our country”. Born in Idlib in Syria, Ahmed moved to Australia in 2006, and in 2017 applied to become a citizen, only succeeding after years of court appeals.
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Updated at 11.41 CET
Stephanie Convery
I’m going to hand you over now to my colleague Frances Mao, who will take you through the rest of this evening’s developments.
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What we’ve learned so far today
It’s just gone 8.30pm in Sydney. If you’re just joining us or catching up, here’s a quick recap of what we’ve learned in the past few hours:
Alleged Bondi shooter Naveed Akram, who has been in hospital in a coma since the incident on Sunday, has regained consciousness this afternoon.
Sajid Akram and his son Naveed spent nearly the entire month of November in the Philippines, that country’s immigration department has confirmed, with Sajid Akram entering the country as an “Indian national”
The NSW opposition leader has indicated bipartisan support for strengthened gun laws, as the premier, Chris Minns, says he expects to recall parliament before Christmas.
King Charles has thanked Ahmed al-Ahmed for his actions in tackling one of the alleged Bondi shooters, and the governor general, Sam Mostyn, says she expects Ahmed to receive a bravery award.
Delivery of the inquest findings into the 2024 stabbings at Westfield Bondi Junction, which were due in the coming days, will be delayed out of respect for the victims of the Bondi beach shooting.
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Updated at 10.44 CET
Latest update on injured victims in hospital
The latest update from NSW Health on people injured in the Bondi shootings puts the number of patients receiving care in Sydney hospitals at 22 this evening.
As of 8pm, Tuesday 16 December:
One patient is in a stable condition at Prince of Wales hospital.
One patient is in a critical but stable condition, and one patient is in a stable condition at St George hospital.
One patient is in a stable condition at Sydney eye hospital.
Two patients are in a critical condition and three patients are in a critical but stable condition at St Vincent’s hospital.
One patient is in a critical condition, two patients are in a critical but stable condition and three patients are stable at Royal Prince Alfred hospital.
Two patients are in a stable condition at Sydney children’s hospital, Randwick.
Three patients are in a stable condition at Royal North Shore hospital.
Two patients are in a stable condition at Liverpool hospital.
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Updated at 10.26 CET
Kelly Burke
More from Bondi Pavilion:
“It is our October 7,” says Rabbi Levi Wolff from the Central synagogue as he invites visiting the Israeli minister for diaspora affairs, Amichai Chikli, to speak.
Chikli says:
I come here to stand with the Jewish community. We came here today to face the force of evil … I have one thing to say to those cowards … If you think that by these terror attacks we will abandon our identity, we will walk away with our identity and we couldn’t be less proud. You have made a major mistake. We are proud to be the enemy of evil. We are proud to be Jews. We will never walk away from our shared values that we share with you, the Aussies.
Mourners stand together near tributes at the Bondi Pavilion in memory of the victims of Sunday’s shooting. Photograph: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 10.10 CET
‘I couldn’t imagine I would lose my daughter here’ says mother of youngest attack victim Matilda
Kelly Burke
“I couldn’t imagine I would lose my daughter here,” Matilda’s mother tells the crowd at the Bondi Pavilion memorial.
She continues:
I can’t imagine what is a monster that stands on that bridge, and seeing a little girl running for her father to hide with him, and he just pulled the trigger on her … it wasn’t an accident, it wasn’t just a bullet, fired from a hill … it stays here [in my heart], it just stays here and here.
She cannot go on speaking.
Matilda’s mother outside the memorial at Bondi Pavilion. Photograph: Audrey Richardson/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 10.25 CET
Philippine authorities investigating alleged shooters’ November movements
Further to our previous post, the Philippines’ national security council has just issued a statement via its spokesperson, Cornelio Valencia.
The statement reads:
The National Security Council is aware of media reports regarding the travel of the Bondi Beach attackers to the Philippines last November. We are closely coordinating with relevant agencies, including the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Bureau of Immigration, to verify the details of their visit and determine whether any unlawful activities occurred on Philippine soil.
The Bureau of Immigration has confirmed that both individuals arrived in the country on November 1, 2025, with Davao as their reported final destination, and departed on November 28, 2025, via Manila. Authorities are examining all information in coordination with international partners to ensure a thorough assessment.
The NSC remains vigilant in preventing any terrorist activity within Philippine territory and continues to enhance coordination with international partners to safeguard national security.
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Updated at 09.59 CET
Philippine authorities unable to confirm whether alleged gunman linked with militant groups in country
Carmela Fonbuena
Earlier today, the Philippines’ immigration department confirmed the father and son accused of being behind the deadly Bondi beach mass shooting spent nearly the entire month of November in the Philippines.
Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval told AFP:
Sajid Akram, 50, Indian national, and Naveed Akram, 24, Australian national, arrived in the Philippines together last November 1, 2025 from Sydney, Australia.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the Philippine national security council’s assistant director general and spokesperson, Cornelio Valencia, said authorities had not confirmed any links between terror groups and the pair.
Philippine authorities and their Australian counterparts were coordinating on the investigation, Valencia said.
Valencia said in translated remarks:
What we have received is simply confirmation that they arrived here in Manila and then proceeded to Sydney. Beyond that, we are still awaiting the normal process. It would be difficult to issue statements on matters that we have not yet validated.
President Bongbong Marcos’s national security adviser, Eduardo Año, said authorities were investigating the pair, but there was no indication so far they had undertaken military training in the Philippines.
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Updated at 09.52 CET
‘Remember her name’: family of 10-year-old victim Matilda address vigil
Kelly Burke
The family of 10-year-old Matilda, the youngest victim of the Bondi beach attack, has been speaking to the gathered crowd at the memorial site at the Pavilion. They break down while telling the crowd about the love for their daughter lost.
Matilda’s father, as he chokes back tears, says:
I never expected to be standing here in front of a microphone … We came here from the Ukraine … and I named her Matilda because she was our firstborn in Australia. Remember her name.
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Updated at 10.23 CET
Kelly Burke
Anglican minister calls for ‘citizen movement’ to ensure Jewish community does not ‘pay in blood for public policy decisions’
At Bondi Pavilion, Sydney Anglican minister Mark Leach has addressed the crowd gathered, in a passionate speech telling the Jewish people they cannot fight antisemitism alone.
Leach said:
I want to say to all the Jewish people here, as a Christian Australian, we are so sorry that we allowed this country to become a place where you would be slaughtered.
Forgive us. You are a tiny, tiny minority, and the majority of this country has allowed this to happen, and we beg your forgiveness.
Leach, who is of Jewish heritage, said churches are being filled with everyday Australians gathering to pray and to remember and to stand with the Jewish community.
He continued:
But the fight against antisemitism is not yours to win. You cannot win it. We are too small. It is a fight for all of Australia to win. What we need to do when our season of mourning and grieving is over, we must build a citizen movement in this country that extends from the north to the south and the east to the west, and includes people of all faiths … a citizen movement that will hold ourselves and our governments and our leaders to account for the decisions they make, so that never again will the Jewish community pay in blood for the public policy decisions of any government of this country.
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Updated at 09.38 CET
Among the tributes laid for Ahmed al-Ahmed outside his shop in Sutherland this afternoon is this hand-drawn tribute by a child, stuck with tape to a roller door. Along with some pictures, the child has written:
Thank you for being our hero. We are proud of you. Get well soon. Hope you feel better. Thank you. No more guns for everyone.
A hand-drawn tribute to Ahmed al-Ahmed, stuck up outside his shop in Sutherland, Sydney. Photograph: Miles Herbert/The GuardianShare
Updated at 09.18 CET
Kelly Burke
The family of slain Rabbi Eli Schlanger has arrived at the memorial at Bondi Pavilion, as the Menorah is about to be lit for the second evening at the site.
The rabbi’s sister, Perela Goldhirsch, and his nieces and nephews hugged each other and wept as Dan Goldhirsch, the rabbi’s brother-in-law, quietly spoke to those near about the importance of community and fighting hatred without seeking revenge.
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Fundraisers for shooting victims at Bondi Pavilion memorial
At the entrance to the impromptu monument at Bondi beach, Rivky Shuchat, from the organisation Jewish Education Matters – a not-for-profit organisation promoting Judaism and Jewish education to Jewish children attending secular schools – has been standing by her post since early morning for the second day running.
An A-frame sandwich board bears the photos of two of her close friends, slain rabbis Eli Schlanger and Yaakov Levitan. Both are pictured with their five young children.
The board also holds two QR codes and Shuchat is urging everyone as they enter the site to make a donation. People obediently scan the codes, others press $20 and $50 notes into her hand. In the past 48 hours almost $400,000 has been raised for Schlanger, and almost $200,000 for Levitan.
Shuchat says:
And I won’t stop until we get to a million [dollars] – these men had young families.
Shuchat attended the festivities on Sunday that ended in tragedy, but left about two minutes before the shooting started.
“I don’t know why,” she says of her and her husband, Rabbi Yossi Shuchat’s, miraculous escape:
All we can do now is kindness. That’s the only thing we can do. There’s nothing more, nothing less.
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Updated at 09.56 CET
