NATIONAL NEWS - George residents Mias and Joanie Strauss and their three children, aged 15, 12 and 10, happened to be on Bondi Beach in Sydney on Sunday 14 December when the mass shooting took place.

The Hanukkah celebration, attended by about 1 000 people, turned tragic shortly before 19:00 when two gunmen, father and son Sajid (50) and Naveed (24) Akram, opened fire, ultimately killing 16 people and injuring dozens.

The New South Wales Police Force responded quickly, fatally shooting the father, while the son was taken into custody in a critical condition. The police later discovered a suspected home-made bomb in one of the shooters’ vehicles. The authorities have classified the mass shooting as an Islamic State-linked terrorist attack.

The death toll rose to 16 on Monday, and included a 10-year-old girl and a 40-year-old man who died in hospital. 

A further 26 people remain hospitalised, seven in critical condition. Two police officers were also injured and remain in a serious but stable condition.

Click below to read more on sister publication, George Herald

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