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By Hollie Silverman and Simon Crerar
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Police officials have determined that the deadly mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach was “a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State," the Associated Press (AP) reported
Krissy Barrett, Australia’s federal police commissioner, made the announcement during a press conference Tuesday.
"Early indications point to a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State, allegedly committed by a father and son", she said. "There is no evidence to suggest other individuals were involved in this attack, however we caution that this could change given it is early in our investigation."
Revealing that early evidence collection has given police investigators a swathe of information that let them make this initial assessment about the suspects and their motivations, the commissioner said: "these are the alleged actions of those who have aligned themselves with a terrorist organisation, not a religion."
Evidence collected at the scene pointed to the ideology of the suspects, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, noting "the presence of Islamic State flags in the vehicle that has been seized.”
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"The radical, perversion of Islam is absolutely a problem," the prime minister said.
"It is something that has been identified globally as a problem as well. ISIS created an evil ideology that has been called out, not just by the Australian government but globally right now.
The NSW police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, confirmed that two ISIS flags were found in a vehicle used by the alleged gunmen. He also confirmed reports that the two suspects had traveled to the Philippines in November.
"The reasons why they went to the Philippines, and the purpose of that, and where they went when they were there, is under investigation at the moment," said Commissioner Lanyon.
The suspects, a 50-year-old man who was killed in the incident, and a 24-year-old man who remains in the hospital, were father and son.
A total of 15 people were killed by the gunmen before a man, now identified as Ahmed Al Ahmed, tackled one of the shooters.
Forty people were hospitalized immediately after the shooting. That number has now decreased to 25, with 10 of them in critical condition, according to the AP.
This is a breaking news story. Updates to come.
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