Shirley Manson of Garbage spoke publicly after an attack on a Hanukkah gathering at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia on Sunday, when two gunmen opened fire and killed at least 15 people. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the violence as an “act of evil antisemitism.”
Only hours after the mass shooting, Garbage went ahead with a scheduled performance at the Sydney Opera House. The attack also left close to 40 people injured, with authorities confirming that one of the shooters was killed and the second remains 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 went on to add, “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 shooting at Bondi Beach took place while more than a thousand people were gathered to mark the first night of Hanukkah. According to video from the scene, an unarmed civilian managed to grapple with one of the gunmen and briefly disarm him before being shot and taken to hospital. The attacker then regrouped with the second gunman, recovered a weapon, and the pair later exchanged gunfire with police.
Garbage also responded to the events on Instagram, condemning the “horrific incident” and sharing that six members of their own family had been at Bondi Beach just hours before the attack unfolded.
“What kind of world we’re living in right now?” the band wrote in a statement posted to 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 accompanying the post, 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.”
