Australia to toughen gun laws as it mourns deadly Bondi attack

Australia's leaders agreed Monday to toughen gun laws after attackers killed 15 people at a Jewish festival on Bondi Beach, the worst mass shooting in decades, decried as antisemitic "terrorism" by authorities.

Dozens fled the tourist hotspot in panic as a father and son fired into crowds packing the Sydney beach for the start of Hanukkah on Sunday evening.

A 10-year-old girl, a Holocaust survivor and a local rabbi were among those killed, while 42 others were rushed to the hospital with gunshot wounds and other injuries.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese convened a meeting of the leaders of Australia's states and territories in response on Monday, agreeing with them "to strengthen gun laws across the nation."

Albanese's office said they had agreed to look into ways to improve background checks for firearm owners, bar non-nationals from obtaining gun licenses and limit the types of weapons that are legal.

Mass shootings have been rare in Australia since a lone gunman killed 35 people in the tourist town of Port Arthur in 1996, which led to sweeping reforms that were long seen as a gold standard worldwide.

Those included a gun buyback scheme, a national firearms register and a crackdown on the ownership of semi-automatic weapons.

But Sunday's shootings have raised fresh questions on how the father and son -- who public broadcaster ABC reported had possible links to the Islamic State group -- obtained the weapons.

AFP