At least 16 people, including a child, were killed when two gunmen opened fire during a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney's Bondi Beach, in what authorities have declared a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community, officials said on Monday.
The attackers were a father-son duo, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said.
The 50-year-old father was shot dead by police at the scene, while his 24-year-old son sustained gunshot injuries and is being treated in hospital.
The younger suspect is in a critical but stable condition.
Those killed in the shooting were aged between 10 and 87 years, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns told reporters.
At least 42 people were hospitalised, several of them in critical condition.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the incident, describing it as an act of antisemitic terrorism that struck 'at the heart of the nation'.
He said the attack targeted Jewish Australians gathered to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah.
According to media reports, one of the victims was a Holocaust survivor who was killed while trying to shield his wife from the gunfire.
Police said one of the attackers was known to security agencies, though there was no prior indication of a planned assault.
Authorities also conducted raids at a Sydney residence in connection with the attack and confirmed that the older suspect held a recreational hunting licence.
Albanese said his government would move to tighten gun-related regulations, including imposing time limits on licences.
"Your fellow Australians stand with you in condemning this act of terror," he said, adding the country would not submit to 'division, violence or hatred'.
The shooting was the deadliest in Australia in nearly three decades, a country that has seen few mass shootings since the introduction of strict gun control laws in 1996.
In the aftermath of the attack, police agencies in several countries increased security around public Hanukkah events.
In the United States, the New York Police Department said it was deploying additional resources to synagogues and public celebrations as a precaution.
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