Police were outgunned during Bondi beach massacre due to lack of long-arm rifles, royal commission hears
Summary
Police at the Bondi beach attack were armed only with pistols and faced attackers using rifles, putting officers at risk. New South Wales police plan to create a special armed response team with more officers carrying long guns to better protect the public from similar attacks in the future.Key Facts
- On 14 December, police faced gunmen using rifles while they only had 9mm Glock pistols.
- The Bondi attack involved two gunmen shooting people at a Hanukah event, killing 15 people.
- Police took almost 8 minutes to stop the attackers, with one officer killing one attacker with a pistol.
- After the attack, police planned an Armed Response Command with 250 officers carrying long guns.
- This command will patrol places like worship sites, events, protests, and sports games 24/7.
- The command was supposed to take two years to set up but will be fully operational in 12 months now.
- Around 210 officers will carry long guns; others will work in command and intelligence roles.
- Officers with long guns cannot be used for crowd control due to safety reasons.
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