Shirley Manson of Garbage addressed the attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia on Sunday, where two gunmen opened fire, killing at least 15 people. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the attack an “act of evil antisemitism.”
Garbage played a concert at Sydney Opera House hours after the mass shooting tragedy, which also left nearly 40 people injured. Authorities have confirmed one of the shooters is dead, and the other is in custody in critical condition.
“This has become an astoundingly frightening, violent, hateful, intolerant world,” Manson told the crowd. “And I think the only thing we can do really, as people who do not believe in all this separation and all this intolerance, all we can really do is really try and profess our love for one another.”
She continued, “We have been a band that have always believed that we are one people under one sun. It doesn’t matter what god you worship, or color of your skin, or what your gender is, or what your sexual orientation is, what food you like to eat, what clothes you like to wear, how you like to hang your junk, whether you like to wear a bra or not wear a bra. But you get my point, it’s all so fucking stupid, we have people in power telling us to really hate one another, and destroy one another.”
The Bondi Beach shooting occurred as more than a thousand people gathered for an event celebrating the first night of Hanukkah. The two gunman began shooting, and an unarmed civilian wrestled with one of them temporarily disarming him, video from the incident showed. (The civilian was also shot in the attack and was transported to the hospital). The gunman then rejoined the other gunman and re-armed. The gunmen then engaged in a shootout with authorities.
Garbage also addressed the tragedy on Instagram, where they denounced the “horrific incident” and revealed that six family members had been at Bondi Beach mere hours before the shooting.
“What kind of world we’re living in right now?” they posted in a statement on Instagram. “Innocent people were targeted while celebrating life and faith. This should never happen to anyone, anywhere. My heart is with the Jewish community in Bondi, with the victims, the injured, and the families whose lives are forever changed.”
In the caption, the band added: “Our hearts go out to the victims and their surviving families who are now dealing with unfathomable loss and heartbreak. We love you so much Sydney. Fuck all this vile antisemitism. Fuck Islamophobia. The killing has to stop.”
