Family hail ‘miracle’ as police officer shot in the head during Bondi attack returns home

The family of a young police officer who was shot in the head during a Hanukkah celebration on Australia’s Bondi Beach are hailing his return home as “a miracle”.

Probationary officer Jack Hibbert, 22, was released from hospital on the same day that lawmakers in New South Wales, the country’s most populous state, prepared to pass tougher gun laws, ban the display of terrorist symbols and curb protests in an emergency session.

“As a family, we couldn’t ask for anything more: having our Jack home, especially for Christmas, truly feels like a miracle,” Hibbert’s family said in a statement.

Hibbert was patrolling Sydney’s famous beach when two gunmen opened fire on the largely Jewish crowd, killing 15 people and injuring dozens more in Australia’s deadliest shooting in almost three decades.

He had only been a police officer for four months and was injured in the head and shoulder.

Despite his injuries, Hibbert continued to help others, New South Wales Police said in a statement last week. But while he “miraculously” survived, he lost one of his eyes, the force added.

“Jacko, you have shown strength to a different degree, we are so glad you are home mate,” his family statement said, adding that he was “still recovering and would need space, support and continued positive thoughts during this time”.

In a separate statement, the family of Constable Scott Dyson, who was placed in a medically induced coma after the attack, said he woke up on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old had undergone surgeries almost daily since the attack, they said. “There is still a long road to recovery, but this is a positive sign,” they added.

Fundraisers for Hibbert and Dyson raised more than $400,000 each.

Five people remain in a critical condition, the New South Wales health department said on Tuesday.

Australian law enforcement identified the two suspects as Naveed Akram, 24, and his father, Sajid Akram, 50. The elder Akram was shot dead at the scene on December 14, while his son was charged last week with 59 offenses including terrorism and 15 counts of murder after waking up from a coma.

Investigators said both men were inspired by Islamic State ideology. Two homemade ISIS flags were found in the younger suspect’s car, police said.

ISIS praised but did not officially claim responsibility for the attack, calling it “the pride of Sydney” in an official publication.

Police said Monday that the two men had several weapons, including shotguns and rifles, and had been training in the countryside nearly two months before the attack. The suspects also threw four improvised explosive devices at crowds on Bondi Beach, which failed to explode, police said.

In November, the duo visited the southern Philippines, once considered a hotspot for extremism. What they did there and who they met are under careful investigation, authorities in both countries said.

Meanwhile, New South Wales is expected to pass a law on Tuesday that would ban the display of terrorist symbols and make it harder to own guns.

The centre-left Labor government has proposed capping most individual firearms licenses at four guns, with farmers able to have up to ten.

Although Australia tightened its gun laws after a 1996 shooting that killed 35 people, a police gun register showed more than 70 people in New South Wales, including Sydney, each owned more than 100 weapons.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who apologized Monday for the attack, also pledged to review the country’s already strict laws on gun ownership.