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Golf legend Phil Mickelson has weighed in on the recent shooting in Bondi Beach, Australia, on Ha’s first day, which killed two students and left more injured.
Mickelson, in a post on X, responded to a video of Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calling for stricter gun laws after the shooting, rejecting the message.
“The two terrorists seemed unaffected by the strict gun laws already in place. In fact, the shooting continued for a long time as there was no one else with a gun to stop them. I’m not a big gun fan, but even I’m not dumb enough to believe what this guy is selling,” Mickelson wrote. “Prayers to the victims and their families.”
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Phil Mickelson reflects on a question at a news conference, Monday, June 13, 2022, at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, prior to the U.S. Open golf tournament. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Australia has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world, established primarily by the 1996 National Firearms Agreement (NFA).
The NFA banned most semi-automatic rifles and shotguns, which were bought back and destroyed in a government-funded program. Firearms are categorized and military style weapons are heavily restricted or prohibited. Meanwhile, obtaining a gun in the country requires safety training, written tests and background checks that cover criminal and mental health records.
Mickelson later responded to an X user who shared a statistic that Australia experiences zero to one mass shootings per year, amid the country’s gun laws.
“This is a great point,” Mickelson wrote. “I am always open to new ideas and facts. I am not always right and I am always open to new perspectives. However, I don’t know how that is implemented in the United States, given our constitution.”
THE RABBI KILLED IN THE SYDNEY HANUKKA ATTACK HAD WARNED THE AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER ABOUT THE RISE OF ANTISEMITISM
Mickelson also addressed the recent mass shooting at Brown University that claimed the lives of two students, and shared a poster of the suspect wanted by the FBI.
“Let’s find this guy,” Mickelson wrote.
Australian authorities have identified the shooters in the Bondi Beach shooting as a father, 50, and son, 24. The father died at the scene, while the son was shot by police and taken to hospital in critical condition. Australian authorities also said the shooters had improvised explosives and homemade ISIS flags in their vehicle.
On Sunday, the pair opened fire on families celebrating Hanukkah on Bondi Beach, killing 15 people and wounding more than two dozen. The Australian government is investigating the incident as a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community.
During the deadly shooting, another bystander, Ahmed al Ahmed, an Australian immigrant, grabbed a gun from one of the shooters. His lawyer said Ahmed does not regret having intervened, despite being “shot” and suffering intense pain.
Bystanders are seen confronting a gunman before his deadly ISIS-inspired mass shooting on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, could start.
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Despite their efforts to disarm him, the gunman eventually overpowered the two bystanders and killed them, according to authorities.
The bystanders were later identified as Boris and Sofia Gurman, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The outlet reported that the Gurmans were passing by when they saw the attacker get out of a vehicle. Although Boris briefly had the advantage after grabbing the shooter’s rifle, the attacker allegedly grabbed another rifle during the confrontation and fatally shot the couple, making them the first victims of the massacre.
