LINDSEY REISER:
00:00:40
An hour before the clock struck midnight, a moment of silence was held to remember the victims of the attack. Ramy Inocencio has more from London. Yeah, Sydney is always one of the first major cities to ring in the new year, but this year celebrations were actually in doubt. That's because Australia is still processing its worst mass shooting in almost three decades. The mood tonight Down Under, one of unity and defiance of terror. As the world counts down to 2026, Sydney stood still for a minute's moment of silent remembrance, honoring 15 men, women, and children gunned down before a new year could begin. Just two Sundays ago, a peaceful afternoon was shattered when this father-son pair opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney's famed Bondi Beach. The attackers were inspired by Islamic State extremist ideology, said Australian authorities, who since then increased the visible presence of police and even sharpshooters across the city. Tonight, more than 2,500 officers were deployed, a record, said the state leader of New South Wales. That includes Sydney. We need to show defiance in the face of this evil, and the best way of doing that is to spend some time with your friends and your family on New Year's Eve on Sydney Harbor.
RAMY INOCENCIO:
00:02:03
In the hours leading up to midnight, crowds did gather for the first fireworks show that honored Australia's Indigenous First Nations peoples. Officials had prepared for more than 1 million people to converge on Sydney Harbor, in line with past years. A city shadowed in its losses now resiliently looking up to the light. And Australia will bring in even tighter gun policies in the new year. One is to limit how many firearms one person can own. One of the Bondi gunman actually owned six. Another is the country's biggest-ever national gun buyback program to potentially take hundreds of thousands of firearms off the streets. Ramy Inocencio, CBS News, London.
