Photographer Arrested for Stealing Bondi Shooting Victim’s Camera After Terror Attack

by · Peta Pixel
Photographer Peter Meagher (above) was killed in the Bondi Beach shooting in December. His camera was allegedly stolen by another photographer during the terror attack | Image credit: Randwick Rugby

A photographer has been charged after he allegedly stole the camera gear of one of the victims of the deadly Bondi Beach shooting before pawning it for hundreds of dollars days after the terror attack.

15 people were killed in the shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, on December 14. According to a report by ABC News Australia, investigators later discovered that camera equipment belonging to one of the victims, retired police officer and photographer Peter Meagher, had gone missing after the attack. 61-year-old Meagher had been working as a photographer at the Hanukkah event when two gunmen allegedly opened fire on the crowd, killing him.

Peter Meagher’s Canon EOS 5D Mark IV was recovered by police | Image credit: New South Wales Police

On Wednesday, police raided the Sydney home of 35-year-old photographer Danny James Ridley, where officers seized a camera, handcuffs, and electronic devices. Police sources confirmed that Meagher’s Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and an SD card, containing photographs he took at the Bondi Beach “Chanukah by the Sea” event before his death, had been recovered. Authorities allege Ridley pawned the camera for $571 (800 Australian dollars).

Ridley was arrested and taken to Riverstone Police Station, where he was charged with alleged stealing offenses, as well as weapons and drug-related offenses.

‘I Will Treasure That Forever’

Earlier this year, Meagher’s wife Virginia Wynne-Markham appealed on social media for the return of her husband’s missing camera.

“It is now apparent that someone, other than a known authority, picked up his camera from Archer Park,” she wrote on Facebook in March. “I would very much like to have his camera returned.”

Wynne-Markham says she had initially believed the camera was being held as police evidence following the December 14 attack. However, when officers returned her husband’s belongings the following Friday – including his wedding ring, wallet, keys, phone, and camera lens – the camera itself was missing. She later filed a missing property report with the police, prompting an investigation.

Wynne-Markham tells ABC News Australia that it was “wonderful” and “the best news” to learn that the SD card had been recovered.

“Peter was doing exactly what he loved doing,” she says. “That was his chosen profession, and to have evidence of him doing what he was doing… I will treasure that forever.”