Sixteen dead after shooting at Australia's Bondi beach

Sixteen people were killed after a shooting on Sunday at Australia's Bondi Beach in Sydney during a gathering for the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, including one shooter, with the other in critical condition.

Emergency responders rushed another 29 people to various hospitals from the beach, one of the biggest tourist draws in Australia's largest city, said New South Wales police.

Police declared the shooting a "terrorist incident" and revealed they had found suspected "improvised explosive devices" in a vehicle near the beach that was linked to the "deceased offender".

"As a result of the circumstances of the incident tonight at 9:36 pm this evening, I declared this to be a terrorist incident," New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon told a news conference.

The premier of Australia's New South Wales state said a shooting at Bondi Beach on Sunday targeted Sydney's Jewish community.

"This attack was designed to target Sydney's Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah," Premier Chris Minns told a media conference.

A British tourist told AFP he saw "two shooters in black" after gunfire broke out Sunday at Australia's famed Bondi Beach, with officials reporting two people in detention and multiple injuries.

"There was a shooting, two shooters in black with semi-automatic rifles," Timothy Brant-Coles told AFP from the Sydney tourist hotspot, reporting multiple people had been shot and wounded.

Australian police said two people were in custody following reports of multiple gunshots, urging the public to take shelter.

"Police are responding to a developing incident at Bondi Beach and are urging the public to AVOID the area. Anyone at the scene should take shelter," New South Wales police said in a statement on social media.

Two people had been taken into custody, they said, warning that the operation was "ongoing" and that people should avoid the area, obey police instructions, and avoid crossing police lines.

A report in the Sydney Morning Herald said one suspected shooter had been shot by police while another had been detained.

Bondi Beach in eastern Sydney is Australia's most famous beach, drawing huge numbers of surfers, swimmers and tourists, especially at weekends.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said a shooting Sunday at Sydney's Bondi Beach was "shocking and distressing".

"Police and emergency responders are on the ground working to save lives. My thoughts are with every person affected," Albanese said in a statement shared by his office.

"I urge people in the vicinity to follow information from the (New South Wales) Police," he said.

"This is a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith, an act of evil, antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a televised address.

"An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian."