New South Wales police say officers armed only with handguns faced a firepower gap during the deadly Sydney terror attack, prompting plans for a semiautomatic-rifle unit and renewed focus on antisemitic violenceAn Australian state police force has been working to create a heavily armed rapid response team after gunmen killed 15 people and wounded three police officers at a Sydney Hanukkah celebration in December, a government inquiry heard Wednesday.Testifying before the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, New South Wales Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson described a serious firepower imbalance during the Dec. 14 terror attack at Bondi Beach. The inquiry is examining the spread of antisemitism in Australia ahead of the massacre.2 View gallery Heavy security at Bondi Beach memorial in Sydney, Australia, one week after the terror attack (Photo: Mark Baker/ AP)Hudson said police responded with a plan to establish an Armed Response Command equipped with semiautomatic rifles. The force has also revived a priority operation focused on antisemitic crimes and possible retaliatory attacks against Muslim targets.Until now, rifles within the force have largely been restricted to two specialized paramilitary squads, he said.Father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram allegedly opened fire with two shotguns and a hunting rifle on hundreds of people celebrating Hanukkah in a beachside park. Only four police officers were present at the time. They were armed with Glock pistols, which are accurate only at short range.“On Dec. 14, our police officers were placed at significant risk being in a gunfight armed with 9 mm Glocks against long arms,” Hudson told the inquiry.Within five minutes of the Akrams allegedly opening fire, 11 police officers had reached the scene. Three of those officers were among the dozens wounded in the massacre. Police shot the father dead and apprehended the wounded son less than eight minutes after the first shot was fired, the inquiry heard Monday.2 View gallery (Photo: Flavio Brancaleone/ Reuters)In response to the shooting, police also revived Operation Shelter, which was established in the days after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel in response to escalating community tensions, Hudson said.Hudson said he had set up Operation Shelter as a “high visibility” proactive policing operation aimed at preventing street violence in Sydney. At its peak, 200 officers were assigned to it daily, with authority to draw personnel from other duties when needed.By the time of the Bondi massacre, Operation Shelter existed “in name only,” Hudson said. The program was quickly revived after the shooting and elevated to an “active policing resource,” he added.Hudson said Operation Shelter will remain active until the new armed response squad becomes fully operational, a process expected to take between 18 months and two years.Comments