SAN ANTONIO – The Jewish Federation of San Antonio said it is mourning victims of the Sunday shooting at a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, including some with local ties to South Texas.
In a statement to KSAT, the Jewish Federation of San Antonio said a local preschool teacher’s uncle and the 20-year-old son of a Texas A&M Jewish student group’s head rabbi are among the at least 15 people who were killed.
San Antonio Jewish community comes together to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah at the Chabad Center for Jewish Life and Learning on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (KSAT 12)
Leaders said that the victims killed were between the ages of 10 and 87, according to an AP report, with at least another 38 people injured in the attack.
“We mourn those killed in this horrific shooting, send our comforts to their families, and wish a speedy and full recovery to the injured,” the federation said in the statement.
San Antonio Jewish community comes together to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah at the Chabad Center for Jewish Life and Learning on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (KSAT 12)
The niece of a local rabbi was also present during the shooting, the federation said, and hid in the sand to keep her and her baby safe.
One of the gunmen was shot and killed by police, AP reports, while the other gunman was wounded and taken to a local hospital.
San Antonio Jewish community comes together to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah at the Chabad Center for Jewish Life and Learning on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (KSAT 12)
As San Antonio’s Jewish community prepares to gather on the first night of Hanukkah, the federation said it is doing so “with a heavy heart.”
“Our community will never retreat in the face of hatred, and will never refrain from carrying on our Jewish traditions,” the federation said. “We will use every tool at our disposal to make sure our communities are safe and that our lights burn brighter in spite of hatred and antisemitism.”
San Antonio Jewish community comes together to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah at the Chabad Center for Jewish Life and Learning on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (KSAT 12)
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