Holocaust survivors and children among the 15 killed after crazed gunmen fire on Sydney Hanukkah celebration

Children and a Holocaust survivor are among the 15 people killed when a pair of deranged gunmen opened fire on a crowded Australian beach where thousands of local Jews had gathered to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah.The victims range in age from 10 to 87, Australian authorities confirmed, and include religious leaders, devoted friends and beloved family members.“This attack was designed to target Sydney’s Jewish community,” said New South Wales Premier Chris Minns.The shooting broke out Sunday evening on Bondi Beach, a popular tourist destination in Sydney where a massive crowd from the local Jewish community was holding a Hanukkah celebration.But the celebratory beach outing quickly turned into terror when a hateful father and son — Naveed Akram, 24, and his 50-year-old father — showed up with shotguns, a rifle, and a car full of explosives and started shooting at anybody in sight.Screams mingled with the gunfire as the attack went on for 10 terrifying minutes, and it only stopped after a local fruit seller — 43-year-old Ahmed al-Ahmed — tackled Akram to the ground and wrestled the gun from his hands.The gunman father was killed by police, while his son was wounded and hospitalized in custody.And with nearly 40 people wounded, the death toll could continue to rise in the coming days.

Below are the victims known so far:Rabbi Eli SchlangerSchlanger, 41, was the beloved assistant rabbi at Sydney’s Chabad of Bondi.A father of five, he had just welcomed the birth of a baby boy around October.He was originally from the UK, and came from a family of Jewish leaders.His cousin is a rabbi in England, as was his great uncle.Family remembered him as “joyful” and “vivacious.”Alex KleytmanKleytman survived the mechanized murder of millions of Jews in World War II, but was gunned down while protecting his wife in the land where he fled for refuge years ago.Born in Ukraine, Kleytman wound up in Siberia during the chaos of the 1940s and spent his chil...