US President Donald Trump expressed his condolences following a terrorist attack in Sydney's Bondi Beach and specifically praised a man who overpowered one of the shooters.
On Sunday evening, two suspected perpetrators opened fire on families at the beach on the first day of the Jewish Hanukkah festival. At least 16 people died and at least 40 others were injured.
Trump said that a bystander who intervened and stopped one of the attackers was "a very, very brave person" during a Christmas address. The man "saved a lot of lives," Trump said.
Trump condemned the attack as anti-Semitic, as the Australian authorities had done earlier.
The scene, where a passer-by surprised and disarmed one of the shooters during the attack, was filmed. The man initially jumped on the attacker's back from behind. After a brief struggle, he took the rifle from him.
The suspected perpetrator, who had been shooting at people just before, escaped limping. The bystander is being celebrated as a "hero" in Australian media.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the attack on the first day of the Jewish Hanukkah festival as a targeted assault on Jewish Australians and a vicious act of anti-Semitism.
The police increased the number of dead to at least 16, including one of the shooters, with 40 injured people being in hospital.
