I was sitting down on my back verandah with my partner for a Sunday evening pre-dinner drink in Bondi Beach. We weren't alone. Neighbours directly behind us had friends over for the festive season. And across the tightly built suburb there was the wafting sound of music, chatter and in the background the dull roar of the surf.

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Then came a series of bangs. We both thought they were fireworks, as its not uncommon to hear them in the suburb.

Then there were sirens, more sirens, and helicopters overhead. A shark attack? Drowning on the beach? These again are not uncommon occurrences in the neighbourhood.

But then came something very odd. Two well-dressed young girls came running into a neighbouring yard, and ducked down low to the ground. They hovered over their phones and huddled close together. What is going on?

We started to get concerned about those series of bangs we had just heard. There had been about 20 to 30. We soon discovered there had been a shooting at the northern end of Bondi Beach.

It is so hard to comprehend what has happened. Bondi may be known globally for its golden sands and postcard views. But what has always been here is a community that has accepted and celebrated diversity. Not in any organised way, but in a natural "let's all just respect each other and live side by side" kind of way.

I've lived here for........

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