Eldest Victim, 87, Among Those Killed in Beach Attack

An 87-year-old elder was among 15 people killed when gunmen targeted a Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration Sunday evening, representing the oldest victim in Australia’s deadliest shooting in decades. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese laid flowers at the site Monday and condemned the antisemitic terrorism as the nation mourned with flags at half-mast.
The elderly victim’s presence underscored how the Jewish holiday gathering served as a multi-generational community event bringing together approximately 1,000 people from all age groups. Elders attending likely carried memories spanning decades of previous celebrations, making the targeting of such a gathering particularly tragic. The roughly ten-minute attack showed no mercy for age or vulnerability.
Attackers Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed Akram, 24, targeted the beachside park gathering without regard for the presence of both young children and elderly community members. Security forces ended the assault by killing the father and critically wounding the son, with the elder Akram’s death bringing total fatalities to sixteen. The age spectrum from ten to 87 among victims illustrated the comprehensive devastation inflicted on the community.
Forty people continued receiving hospital treatment, including two police officers whose serious injuries had stabilized. Among those recovering was 43-year-old Ahmed al Ahmed, who had courageously disarmed one shooter despite being wounded. The medical needs of elderly victims often require specialized care, adding complexity to the emergency response that continued days after the attack.
This massacre marks the worst gun violence Australia has experienced in nearly three decades, with elderly victims representing a generation that had lived through previous national tragedies and hoped their grandchildren would know greater peace. The loss of community elders meant the disappearance of historical memory and wisdom that binds generations together. As families mourned, the particular vulnerability of elderly attendees raised questions about protecting all ages at public gatherings.