Phil Mickelson comments on Bondi Beach terror attack and gun laws

Golf legend Phil Mickelson has weighed in on the recent shooting at Bondi Beach, Australia, on the first day of Ha, which killed two students and left more injured. 

Mickelson, in a post on X, responded to a video of Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calling for stricter gun laws in the wake of the shooting, pushing back on the message. 

“The 2 terrorists didn’t seem affected by the strict gun laws already in place. In fact the shooting went on for a long time since there wasn’t anybody else with a gun to stop them. I’m not a big gun guy but even I’m not this dumb to believe what this guy is selling,” Mickelson wrote. “Prayers to the victims and their families.” 

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Phil Mickelson ponders a question at a press conference, Monday, June 13, 2022, at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., ahead of the U.S. Open golf tournament. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Australia has some of the world’s strictest gun control laws, 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, with military-style weapons heavily restricted or prohibited. Meanwhile, obtaining a gun in the country requires safety training, written tests, and background checks covering criminal and mental health history. 

Mickelson later responded to an X user who shared a stat that Australia experiences zero-to-one mass shootings per year, amid the country’s gun laws. 

“This is a great point,” Mickelson wrote. “I’m always open to new ideas and facts. I’m not always right and I’m always open to new perspectives. I don’t know how you implement that in the US given our constitution though.” 

RABBI KILLED IN SYDNEY HANUKKAH ATTACK HAD WARNED AUSTRALIAN PM ABOUT RISING ANTISEMITISM

Mickelson also addressed the recent mass shooting at Brown University that claimed the lives of two students, re-sharing an FBI wanted poster of the suspect. 

“Let’s find this guy,” Mickelson wrote. 

Australian authorities have identified the shooters in the Bondi Beach shooting as a father, 50, and a son, 24. The father was killed at the scene, while the son was shot by police and taken to the hospital in critical condition. Australian authorities also said that the shooters had improvised explosives and homemade ISIS flags in their vehicle.

On Sunday, the pair opened fire on families celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach, killing 15 people and leaving more than two dozen injured. The Australian government is investigating the incident as a terror attack targeting the Jewish community.

During the deadly rampage, another bystander, Ahmed al Ahmed, an Australian immigrant, wrestled a gun away from one of the shooters. His attorney said that Ahmed does not regret intervening, despite being “riddled with bullets” and in intense pain.

Bystanders were seen on video confronting a gunman before his ISIS-inspired deadly mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, could begin. 

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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 walking by as they saw the assailant exiting a vehicle. Though Boris had the upper hand for a moment after picking up the shooter’s rifle, the attacker allegedly picked up another rifle during the confrontation and fatally shot the couple, making them the first victims of the massacre.

Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf contributed to this report. 

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