Police in Australia’s New South Wales state said on Saturday (January 3, 2026) they would increase the number of staff at the Sydney Cricket Ground for the fifth Ashes Test starting on Sunday (January 4), weeks after gunmen killed 15 people at a Jewish event in the city. The father-son gunmen are accused of carrying out the attack on a Hanukkah event at the famous Bondi Beach on December 14. The worst mass shooting in Australia in nearly three decades, the attack shocked the country and raised fears of rising anti-Semitism in the country.

This massacre has made the police more active in Sydney, Australia’s most populous city and the state capital. Officials said there would be a “high-visibility” police presence at the SCG, located about 5 km (3. 1 mi) from Bondi Beach, including a riot patrol unit, officers on horseback and officers carrying rifles.

“The difference will be the visibility and stronger presence of longer weapons,” New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said in a statement. Police said they expected a large crowd on the first day of the match between England and Australia, with the final of the five-match series already in the hands of Australia.

Mr Lanyon said, “Many people may not be used to seeing police carrying rifles at sporting events, but our aim is to help the public feel safe. ” On Wednesday (December 31, 2025), about 3,000 police, some of them armed with long weapons, were deployed in the city during New Year celebrations that usually attract more than a million revelers. Authorities believe the attack was inspired by Sunni Muslim militant group Islamic State, prompting several planned New Year events in Bondi to be cancelled, while traditional Christmas celebrations there were overshadowed.