Gunman at large after three killed in eastern Australia

Australian police said they were hunting for a gunman on the run after three people were shot and killed Thursday in a small, lakeside town in the country's east.

Officers warned people to stay indoors in the country town of Lake Cargelligo, 450 kilometres (280 miles) west of Sydney.

New South Wales police said they found a man and woman dead in a vehicle after responding to reports of shots being fired in the town in the late afternoon.

A second shooting soon afterwards killed a woman and wounded a man who was reported to be in a "critical condition" in hospital.

"At this stage, police have identified an offender who is still at large," said Andrew Holland, New South Wales police assistant commissioner.

"We have a large search in the area currently underway. We are requesting that people remain indoors," he told reporters.

The gunman is believed to have fled in a vehicle, Holland said.

Police declined to comment on the relationship between the gunman and the victims or any possible motive for the shooting.

A report in the Sydney Morning Herald said one of the victims was believed to be the gunman's former partner, describing the incident as a suspected domestic violence attack.

Police said the shooting would worry many residents of the country town, which has a population of about 1,400 people.

"Any death in a small country town is confronting, but again, a scene where you have people shot by firearms is obviously going to make people very, very tense and very concerned," said Holland.

"The scene faced by the emergency services officers at that time would have been horrendous."

Australia PM Albanese 'profoundly sorry' for failing to prevent Bondi Beach attack

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday he was "profoundly sorry" for his failure to prevent the Bondi Beach mass shooting, as the country observed a day of mourning for the victims of the attack.

Police say a father and son opened fire at an event celebrating the Jewish festival of Hanukkah on December 14, killing 15 people in Australia's worst mass shooting in decades.

They say the two men were inspired by Islamic State to carry out the attack, which the government has called an act of terrorism against Jewish people.

Flags were flown at half-mast across the country ahead of a memorial event at Sydney's iconic Opera House, where Albanese apologised to the relatives of the victims in the audience.

"You came to celebrate a festival of light and freedom and you left with the violence of hatred. I am deeply and profoundly sorry that we could not protect your loved ones from this evil," Albanese said to sustained applause in his speech at the event.

Last month, the prime minister said he was "sorry for what the Jewish community and our nation as a whole has experienced" - an apology that some relatives said was insufficient.

A minute's silence, including on the country's main television channels, was held across the nation just after 7 p.m. in Sydney (0800 GMT) as the memorial event began. Event attendees lit candles and heard speeches from other lawmakers, as well as Jewish prayers and video tributes.

Buildings across the country, including cricket stadiums in Melbourne and Perth, were also illuminated, while play was paused during the Australian Open tennis tournament to observe the minute's silence.

The Bondi attack shocked the nation and led to calls for tougher action on antisemitism and gun control, with critics of Albanese saying he had not done enough to crack down on a spate of attacks on the Jewish community in recent years.

The government disputes this, and has already passed legislation tightening background checks for gun licences, as well as separate legislation that would lower the threshold for prosecuting hate speech offences.