“I thought they were fireworks.”

Witnesses reported that shooting on Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Australia, which left at least 12 dead (including one of the shooters) this Sunday afternoon 14. The venue hosted an event Jewish of Hanukkah, with the presence of children and babies. At least 29 people were injured, according to the Australian press.

Hundreds of people were attending the event when the shooting began. Before the attack, the atmosphere was described by witnesses as festive, interrupted by explosions initially mistaken for fireworks by some of those present.

As the two shooters approached, there was a rush. People sought to hide behind parked cars, in restaurant bathrooms, in garages, and even in strangers’ apartments.

Lachlan Moran, 32, was waiting nearby for his family when he heard gunshots. “I panicked and ran. I started running as fast as I could,” he said. He reported that the shooting continued for approximately five minutes. “People were crying, it was just horrible,” he added.

Node The Sydney Morning Heraldjournalist Elias Visontay reported that he was there with friends: “at first I thought it was fireworks.” He described the rush of hundreds of people looking for places to hide.

“We were all there, dripping with salt water, barefoot and full of sand, huddled behind garage doors and art deco buildings. It was surreal,” he described. Minutes later, he returned to his car, where his cell phone kept ringing, receiving calls from worried family and friends, as well as people who said they knew the injured.

On his way home, he encountered what he called “a constant stream of ambulances heading in the opposite direction.” “It’s an incredibly dark day for Sydney and for Australia, no doubt. But for the Jewish community, it seems like everything has changed,” he concluded.

Other witnesses reported scenes of panic. People ran off the beach in desperation, jumping over cars and walls. Finn Foster, 18, a Canadian tourist, said The New York Times initially mistaking the shots for fireworks. According to him, the shots followed one another.

Ebonny Munro, 32, told the US newspaper she was there with her 17-month-old son when she heard the gunshots. She said she threw herself under a barbecue grill next to another man to protect herself.

The local press describes a scene of desolation: people crying, injured people transported on surfboards, children who lost their parents in mid-flight. Helicopters had to land at a nearby sports field to transport the injured to hospital.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the act anti-Semitic terrorism that struck the heart of the nation. The massacre hit one of Australia’s most popular and iconic beaches. One of the shooters was killed by police, while the other is in critical condition.