'It was a massacre'

Witnesses describe the horror - and the bravery

- Ben Doherty

The killing went on so long, those fleeing had time to scream: “They're reloading” as they scrambled for any place of safety they could find. Those who could not find one were pitilessly gunned down.

“I saw children being targeted,” one man, who declined to give his name, told the Guardian. “I saw old people who couldn’t move being shot. It was a massacre. There was blood everywhere. It’s unbelievable. This doesn’t happen here. Not here.”

On a sunny Sunday afternoon in the Australian summer, Bondi is busy. A drumming and dancing troupe, open to all-comers, usually sets up in the northern corner of the sand. There are beach races and surfing lessons, dog-walkers and family picnics. Volunteer lifesavers in yellow and red patrol the beach.

Yesterday, as the sun set on the weekend, members of Sydney’s Jewish community had gathered at a small park immediately behind the beach to light candles and to commune, to celebrate the beginning of Hanukah. To the Jewish festival of lights, terrorists brought darkness.