SYDNEY — New South Wales Police plan to establish an Armed Response Command equipped with semiautomatic rifles following the December 14 shooting at a Hanukkah celebration in Bondi Beach that killed 15 people and wounded three police officers. The new unit aims to address what officials described as a critical firepower imbalance during the attack.

Father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram allegedly opened fire with two shotguns and a hunting rifle on hundreds of people gathered at the beachside park. Only four police officers were present at the event, armed solely with Glock pistols, which are accurate only at short distances. Within five minutes of the shooting, 11 officers had arrived at the scene; three of them were among those wounded. Police shot the father dead and apprehended the wounded son less than eight minutes after the first shot was fired.

New South Wales Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson testified before the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion about the tactical disadvantage officers faced. "On Dec. 14, our police officers were placed at risk being in a gunfight armed with 9 mm Glocks against long arms," Hudson told the inquiry.

Until now, rifles within the New South Wales Police have been largely restricted to two specialized paramilitary squads. In response to the Bondi Beach massacre, police revived Operation Shelter—a high-visibility policing initiative originally established after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel to prevent street violence in Sydney. Although Operation Shelter had been active with up to 200 officers daily at its peak, it existed "in name only" when the shooting occurred. Operation Shelter was quickly reinstated after the attack and elevated to an "active policing resource" that will remain in place until the Armed Response Command becomes fully operational, a process expected to take 18 months to two years.