SYDNEY: Australian police said that seven men detained ​in Sydney’s southwest on Thursday had ideological connections to the two gunmen who allegedly fired at hundreds ‌celebrating Hanukkah ‌in ‌Bondi ⁠Beach, ​killing ‌15 people.
“We don’t have definitive links between the individuals who committed these atrocities on Sunday ⁠and this yesterday ‌apart from potential commonality ‍in ‍some thinking, but ‍no associations at this stage,” New South Wales state Police ​Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson told ABC Radio on ⁠Friday.
Investigations were at an initial stage, Hudson said, adding one of the locations the group was planning to visit was Bondi.

Amid an outcry over the latest gun violence, Prime ‌Minister Anthony Albanese ‍said ‍on Friday that the government will ​launch a national gun buyback scheme to encourage civilians to get rid of their guns.

“We ‍expect hundreds of thousands of ​firearms will be collected and ⁠destroyed through this scheme,” Albanese told a news conference. 

Albanese also said Australia will hold a national “day of reflection” one week after the mass shooting.

“This day is about standing with the Jewish community, wrapping our arms around them, and all Australians sharing their grief,” Albanese said as he declared Australia would honor the attack’s 15 victims on Sunday, December 21.