Bondi Beach Survivor Recounts Harrowing Chanukah Attack (Exclusive)

The day had unfolded like summer in Australia — sun-soaked and unhurried. It was Dec. 14, and Darren Sacks spent the morning in the water at Bondi Beach, teaching his girlfriend, Dani, who was visiting from London, how to surf at the beach where he grew up.

By afternoon, they were sandy and hungry, so they grabbed food nearby and talked about Chanukah by the Sea — the Bondi Beach celebration Sacks’ mother had urged them not to miss.

Just before 5 p.m., the couple arrived at the event. They bought tickets, passed through security, and wandered through the space, which was lined with food stalls, a petting zoo, and a rock-climbing wall. Rabbis offered to wrap tefillin — small black leather boxes containing Torah passages — and Sacks, 26, eagerly participated.

As they walked, a photographer offered to take their picture and said it would be ready in about half an hour. The couple decided to step away briefly, heading to Ben Buckler’s Point, a short walk north of the event, to hang out before returning to the celebration.

However, not long after they arrived, loud noises erupted from the beach. “I’m used to Bondi — fireworks, cars, motorbikes,” Sacks tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I was convinced it was normal. But it just kept happening. Like this beating drum.”

But as the noises kept coming, Sacks says he and his girlfriend could see the chaos unfolding, including thousands of people who were sprinting from the event. The realization hit immediately.

“We knew we had to run,” he says. “We were right there, so I knew we had to go.”

They ran several streets uphill as sirens wailed behind them, eventually finding refuge in a resident’s garage, joining about 15 to 20 others. Inside, Sacks recalls two children clutching hot dogs from the event. “They told us they saw dirt spraying up from bullets hitting the ground,” he says. “They jumped over a fence and ran.”

As they waited in the garage, reports began to emerge. Two gunmen — later identified by police as a father and son — had opened fire on the crowd at Archer Park, where people had gathered for Chanukah by the Sea.

Sixteen people were killed and 40 injured, with victims’ ages ranging from 10 to 87, according to New South Wales police.

“It’s horrific,” Sacks says. “It’s a shock — but not a surprise. That’s how it feels.”

After what felt like hours, Sacks says his parents reached him and Dani, picking the couple up from the garage just outside a police blockade. They also told him that a cousin and the cousin’s wife had been at the event with their baby. The wife suffered a bullet graze to her head and was treated and released.

“She laid on top of the baby to protect her,” Sacks says.

In the days that followed, the emotional toll began to assert itself. Sacks says Dani was in complete shock and wouldn’t speak at first. “She’s doing better now, but I can’t sleep,” he says. “I just have nightmares. Still, we’re alive, and my family and the community have been incredible.”

Since the attack, Sacks says the community’s response has been overwhelming. People gathered at the Bondi Pavilion for a vigil, proudly observing Jewish traditions despite the tragedy.

“There’s Jewish events that happen all the time in Bondi,” he adds. “Bondi is home. It’s where I grew up, I’m super comfortable there. It’s very ingrained in my life and in the culture. It’s a very Jewish area, honestly — an Aussie Jewish kind of vibe.”

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The attack, he adds, has highlighted a broader need for change.

“Everyone’s resilience has been incredible,” Sacks says. “They’re still lighting the menorah, still gathering. They’re choosing to lift up instead of shrink.”

“There’s urgency now — not just for Jews, but for all Australians. We need to do something about what this country has become and where it’s going. I’m not hopeful, but I believe in my community. We’re strong, we’re resilient. And for that, I’m grateful.”