A Hanukkah celebration on warm summer's evening at Sydney's Bondi Beach became a scene of horror on Sunday when gunmen opened fire, causing chaos and fear.

French construction worker Damien Guerot has spoken of his mixed emotions at being made an Australian permanent resident as reward for his heroism during a knife attack in a Sydney shopping mall that left six victims dead and a dozen wounded.

A police officer and several bystanders are being hailed for running “towards danger” to confront the attacker who stabbed and killed six people at a suburban Sydney shopping center.

Police have identified the assailant who stabbed six people to death at a busy Sydney shopping center before he was fatally shot by a police officer.