At least 12 dead, scores injured in Australian beach shooting

At least 12 people were killed and many others injured in a Sunday mass shooting incident at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australian officials said.

New South Wales (NSW) Premier Chris Minns told a news conference that 12 people were killed in the incident.

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said a "number of… shots (were) fired at Archer Park at Bondi… 28 people have been transported to various hospitals."

Lanyon declared the mass shooting to be "a terrorist incident."

NSW Premier Minns said it was "designed to target the Jewish community."

According to an NSW police statement, "a man believed to be one of the shooters" is among the dead.

The second alleged shooter is in critical condition, it added.

Among the wounded are two cops, said the police statement.

The statement added that "a number of suspicious items located in the vicinity are being examined by specialist officers, and an exclusion zone is in place."

"An extensive crime scene has been established, and inquiries are now underway. There have been NO reports of any other incidents in Sydney connected to this incident," said the police statement.

"Two people are in police custody at Bondi Beach; however, the police operation is ongoing and we continue to urge people to avoid the area," New South Wales police said on US social media company X, amid reports of an exclusion zone.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement shared on US social media company X: "The scenes in Bondi are shocking and distressing."

"We are working with NSW Police and will provide further updates as more information is confirmed," he added.

The Australian National Imams Council and the Council of Imams NSW, in a joint statement on US social media company X, strongly condemned the shootings in Bondi, and said: "These acts of violence and crimes have no place in our society."