On Dec. 14, a 24-year-old man and his father launched a deadly assault at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing 15 people and leaving 12 wounded.
Attack Details
The pair began by throwing four improvised explosive devices toward a crowd celebrating an annual Jewish event. Police described the devices as three aluminum pipe bombs and a tennis ball bomb that contained explosives, gunpowder and steel ball bearings. None detonated, but they were considered viable IEDs.
CCTV captured the men carrying two shotguns, a rifle, five IEDs and two homemade Islamic State flags wrapped in blankets. They fired from a footbridge that offered an elevated view and protection from waist-high concrete walls.
Police Documents and Training
Australian police documents released on Monday revealed that the men had conducted firearms training outside of Sydney with their father in New South Wales. The documents were made public after Naveed Akram appeared in court from a Sydney hospital where he was treated for an abdominal injury.
The documents also show the pair filmed themselves justifying the attack, expressing their political and religious views and summarising their motivation for the Bondi terrorist attack. Video footage on Akram’s phone shows them condemning Zionists while adhering to an ideology linked to Islamic State.
Legal Fallout
Akram has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder, 40 counts of causing harm with intent to murder and one count of committing a terrorist act. His father, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, was killed by police during the gun battle.
Sajid Akram, an Indian citizen with a permanent resident visa, legally owned six rifles and shotguns. New draft laws introduced by the New South Wales government would make Australian citizenship a condition for a firearms licence, effectively excluding Sajid.
The attack was Australia’s worst mass shooting since the 1996 Tasmania incident that claimed 35 lives.
Memorial and Victims
An impromptu memorial grew near the Bondi Pavilion after the massacre, but it was removed on Monday as the beachfront returned to normal activity. The Sydney Jewish Museum will preserve part of the memorial.
Victims’ funerals continued, including that of French national Dan Elkayam, a 27-year-old who had moved from Paris to Sydney a year earlier. The health department reported that 12 wounded people remained in hospitals on Monday.
Key Takeaways
- A 24-year-old and his father carried out a deadly attack at Bondi Beach, killing 15 and wounding 12.
- Police documents reveal the men trained with firearms, filmed their justification and used four IEDs that failed to explode.
- Akram faces 59 charges, including 15 murders; his father was killed in the gun battle.
The tragedy marks a stark reminder of the threat of antisemitic terrorism and the ongoing need for stringent firearms regulation in Australia.
