SYDNEY - Mourners collapsed in grief as they honoured a rabbi slain in the Bondi Beach attack, the first of 15 victims laid to rest after Australia's worst mass shooting in decades.
Crowds spilt out of Sydney's Chabad of Bondi Synagogue to grieve rabbi Eli Schlanger, a father of five, killed on Sunday evening when gunmen opened fire on a Jewish festival.
Two young women howled with sorrow as they draped themselves over Schlanger's black casket.
The 41-year-old was known to many around town as the "rabbi of Bondi".
He served as a chaplain in prisons and hospitals, according to the Hasidic Chabad movement, which organised Sunday's event.
Squads of police patrolled the streets outside the Bondi synagogue, marshalling the large crowds gathered for the service.
Those unable to cram inside huddled together on the street to watch on their cellphones.
"My heart goes out to the community today and every day," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday.
The Chabad of Bondi Synagogue said a second funeral would be held for 39-year-old rabbi Yaakov Levitan in a city synagogue in the afternoon.
Levitan was a father of four renowned for his charitable work, the Chabad movement said.
Sajid Akram and his son Naveed opened fire on a Jewish festival at Sydney's famed Bondi Beach on Sunday evening.
Authorities said the attack was designed to sow panic among the nation's Jews.