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An American woman visiting family in Sydney, Australia, said “pandemonium broke out” when gunfire erupted at a crowded Hanukkah festival on Bondi Beach, sending hundreds of people fleeing for their lives.
Tanya Cohen initially mistook a series of rapid pops for fireworks when she arrived at the annual “Chanukah by the Sea” event, she told “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Sunday.
“And then when it did not stop, we all realized it was an active shooter, and pandemonium broke out,” Cohen said. “Hundreds of people were running across a busy road — where cars were still moving — toward safety.”
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Cohen said diners in nearby restaurants “were jumping under the tables.” She also said the attack seemed to go on for nearly 10 minutes before gunfire stopped.
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Police say the attack “targeted” the Jewish community and is being investigated as an act of terrorism, Fox News Digital previously reported. At least 12 people were killed and 29 hospitalized, authorities said.
Cohen said she was close to the shooter, who was firing toward the festival rather than the road where crowds were escaping. Her brother was working security at the site.
“He joined in to help resuscitate victims and is actually still on the scene helping out authorities,” said Cohen.
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She called the shooting a “targeted terrorist attack on the Jewish community of Sydney at a Hanukkah festival where over a thousand people were gathered to celebrate a Jewish holiday, the Festival of Lights.”
“There were children there, there were babies there, there were families there, and there were rabbis there, one of which is now deceased.”
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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the shooting “an act of evil antisemitism — terrorism — that has struck the heart of our nation” on an SBS News broadcast.
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Pritchett and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
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