Mental health organizations established long-term trauma support programs Monday for survivors of the Bondi Beach shooting that killed 15 people at a Hanukkah celebration, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemning the antisemitic terrorism. The prime minister laid flowers at the site as flags flew at half-mast following Australia’s deadliest gun violence in decades.
Experts recognized that psychological recovery from Sunday evening’s attack on approximately 1,000 Jewish community members would require sustained intervention extending months or years beyond the roughly ten-minute assault. Father-son shooters Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24, created trauma that security forces ended by killing the elder and critically wounding the younger, though the father’s death bringing total fatalities to sixteen marked only the beginning of healing for survivors.
Programs addressed diverse needs across age groups, with specialized services for children, working adults, and elderly survivors. Forty people remained hospitalized including two police officers whose serious injuries had stabilized, all facing both physical recovery and psychological processing. Among those receiving support was 43-year-old Ahmed al Ahmed, whose heroic actions wrestling a gun from an attacker required processing alongside his gunshot wounds.
Trauma specialists noted that victims aged ten to 87 would experience different manifestations of post-traumatic stress, requiring customized interventions. Community organizations coordinated with healthcare providers to ensure access to services regardless of financial capacity, recognizing that untreated trauma creates long-term individual and societal costs. Programs also addressed secondary trauma affecting first responders, witnesses, and family members not directly present.
This incident marks Australia’s worst shooting in nearly three decades and necessitates unprecedented trauma support infrastructure. Mental health advocates emphasized that while immediate crisis response draws attention, sustained support determines whether survivors successfully rebuild their lives. As programs launched, coordinators prepared for the reality that some individuals would not seek help immediately, designing outreach to engage people months after the attack when delayed trauma responses often emerge.