The New South Wales (NSW) Premier, Chris Minns, has addressed criticisms regarding the police response to an attack at a Jewish festival in Bondi Beach. The incident resulted in 15 fatalities and dozens of injuries.
Following the event, some witnesses raised concerns about the speed with which police disarmed the perpetrators and the adequacy of pre-event security. Premier Minns stated that two police officers are in critical care, confirming they were injured during engagement with the gunmen. He characterized any "rush to conclusions" about the police operation as "disrespectful," asserting that officers engaged the gunmen, who were armed with long-range rifles, using handguns on a footbridge. Minns further stated that suggestions of NSW Police failing in their responsibilities are inconsistent with the facts.
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon did not specify the number of officers deployed to the event beforehand. He noted that police regularly patrol the area based on existing threat assessments. Australia's security agency confirmed that one of the alleged gunmen, Naveed Akram, had been noted in 2019 due to associations, but there was no intelligence indicating he posed a risk of violence. Commissioner Lanyon indicated that a different policing response might have been implemented had specific threat intelligence for the location or event been available.
Following the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, NSW Police established Operation Shelter to investigate antisemitic hate crimes. This operation includes regular patrols of high-risk locations, such as Sydney's eastern suburbs, including Bondi, which has a significant Jewish population. Additionally, Strike Force Pearl was later formed to investigate hate crimes across Sydney.