

Decades of tight gun laws failed to prevent Sydney terrorist attack
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The father and son accused in Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in nearly 30 years had six licensed firearms at the scene, police said Monday, as emerging details about the attack spurred calls to strengthen the country’s gun laws. The assault by two gunmen on a Hanukkah celebration Sunday at Sydney’s Bondi Beach killed 15 people and stunned a country with strict firearms regulations and little gun violence.
Authorities described it as a terrorist attack on the Jewish community. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called for tougher gun laws, saying Monday that leaders would discuss limits on the number of guns that can be licensed and a review of licenses over time. “People can be radicalized over a period of time.
Licenses should not be in perpetuity," he said. Authorities identified one suspect as a 50-year-old man, who was killed by police at the scene, and the other as his 24-year-old son, who was taken to a hospital under police custody. Officials haven’t named the suspects.
The father had six firearms licensed to him, which were found at the scene, according to police. He was eligible for a firearms license for recreational hunting and was a member of a gun club, said New South Wales Police Force Commissioner Mal Lanyon. The son had been investigated by Australia’s domestic intelligence agency for six months starting in October 2019, according to Albanese.
He was examined because of his associations with others, but the agency didn’t find a threat of him engaging in violence, said Albanese, who didn’t share further details about the associations. Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke said Monday that the younger suspect is an Australian-born citizen. The older suspect arrived in
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