Chabad Bondi's Chanukkah by the Sea event last year.

By Cecilia Levine From Daily Voice

The two gunmen accused of killing 16 people at a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach in Australia this weekend have been identified as a father-son duo, the New York Times reports.

The 50-year-old father was shot and killed by police, while the 24-year-old man sustained critical injuries, the outlet said, citing New South Wales police, who did not identify the pair by name.

Two people were reportedly escorted out of a home in Bonnyrigg, a town west of Sydney, after being swarmed by law enforcement officers following the shooting, The Times reports.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the shooting as an act of terrorism.

Among those killed was Chabad Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who leads Chabad of Bondi. The attack occurred during Chabad of Bondi's “Chanukah By the Sea” event. Chabad is an international movement within Orthodox Judaism, headquartered in Brooklyn, with local centers in communities around the world.

Harrowing footage shared by The Yeshiva World shows a civilian disarming one of the shooters.

The attack sent shockwaves through Jewish communities around the world, including in New Jersey. Short Hills Chabad Rabbi Mendel Solomon said Rabbi Schlanger was a close colleague and longtime friend.

Rabbi Schlanger helps someone wrap Tefilin prior to the attack on Bondi Beach

Rabbi Schlanger helps someone wrap Tefilin prior to the attack on Bondi Beach

Courtesy of Rabbi Mendel Solomon

“Thirty minutes before the Menorah lighting in Sydney, my colleague, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, proudly helped an attendee put on Tefillin, a simple, sacred act of Jewish life and faith,” Solomon wrote. “Less than an hour later, in a brutal act of terror, his life was taken in front of his family. He was only 40 years old.”

“Rabbi Eli was originally from London. I grew up frequenting his family’s home. His brother is one of my closest friends, and his family is deeply known to me,” Solomon wrote.

“This is not just an attack on Chabad. It is an attack on all Jews AND on all who cherish democracy, on the right to live openly and safely, and on the very foundations of freedom itself,” Solomon wrote. “This is not my loss alone, it is all our loss.”