Tears flow as community mourns Bondi massacre victims

Shock has given way to grief and despair as Australia mourns the loss of 15 people killed when two gunmen opened fire on crowds at Bondi Beach.

Naveed Akram, 24, and his father Sajid Akram, 50, told their family they were going on a fishing trip before wreaking chaos and devastation at a Jewish festival on Sunday night.

Sajid, a licensed gun owner who arrived in Australia on a student visa in 1998, died at the scene following a short shootout with police.

Australian-born Naveed, who came to the attention of spy agency ASIO in October 2019 over his association with others and is expected to face charges, received critical injuries and is in a coma in hospital.

The youngest of the victims was 10-year-old Matilda, who had her face painted just hours before she was fatally injured in the attack.

"I can't imagine how we're going to get through this," her aunt Lina told AAP.

"We will always feel the loss. I don't think we will be ever happy."

She said she felt confused by the gunmen's onslaught and "sorry for them" because they had the opportunity to live happily in the community but made a different choice.

A memorial site has been established at the rear of the Bondi Pavilion, where dozens of mourners congregated on Monday evening to pay their respects.

A massive circular mound of floral tributes lay in the middle of the assembled crowd, many of whom broke down in tears and leaned on each other for support.

Retired police detective Peter Meagher and rabbis Eli Schlanger and Yaakov Levitan are among the 15 victims whose names have become public.

A further 12 survivors are fighting for their lives in hospital, while 15 people are in a stable condition.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese laid a wreath at the site earlier on Monday, condemning the ambush on the Jewish festival of light as an "act of pure evil" that targeted a "joyous celebration".

He met with state leaders on Monday afternoon to discuss accelerating work on a national gun register, limiting the number of guns owned by an individual and limiting the types of legal guns.

There was no evidence of collusion between the two gunmen and anyone else, or suggestion that they were part of a terror cell, Mr Albanese said.

"These two evil people have engaged in this act of anti-Semitism driven by ideology, extreme perversion of Islam that has resulted in these catastrophic consequences," he told the ABC's 7.30.

NSW Premier Chris Minns called for a strong repudiation of "cancerous" anti-Semitism and questioned why someone needed a license for six long-arm weapons if they weren't a farmer, suggesting he would move to change the law and possibly recall parliament.

Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon called for calm in the community and warned retribution attacks would not be tolerated, including a violent rally advertised on social media in Cronulla.

Investigations are ongoing after police seized a third improvised explosive device and a sixth firearm at the crime scene.

The shocking attack was completely unexpected, according to an eyewitness who said he had been eating a meal with friends when he heard noises and saw people running in a chaotic fashion.

"We just thought it was a bunch of firecrackers but then we kept on hearing these popping sounds," the man - who asked not to be identified - told AAP.

When he realised the sounds were gunshots, he took shelter in a stranger's apartment block.

NSW Liberal leader Kellie Sloane had been nearby when the shots began and rushed down to the scene, where she sheltered a father and son in her car.

"I could still hear a couple of shots ... but everyone was working on those on the wounded," she said.

"We held the hands of people who were passing away."

Ms Sloane praised the "extraordinary acts of bravery" demonstrated by bystanders, including "national hero" Ahmed Al Ahmed who wrestled a long-arm gun off one of the shooters.

He has undergone surgery after being shot during the attack.

Surf lifesavers attending a Christmas party at the nearby clubhouse also rushed into action as shots rang out over the beach, running towards victims to render first aid.

Locals and visitors sought safe haven in the clubhouse while others rushed to find cover in bushes and behind surfboards.

Alex Ryvchin, co-chief of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, wept at Bondi Beach, which he said had been the greatest place in Australia to celebrate the thousands-year-old festival.

The attack is Australia's worst modern-day mass shooting since the Port Arthur Massacre in 1996 - when 35 people were killed by gunman Martin Bryant - and the deadliest anti-Semitic act in the nation's history.

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