At the start of an eight-day Hanukkah celebration, a father-son duo attempted to kill 15 people at Bondi Beach. Police documents released on Monday detail how Naveed Akram, 24, and his 50-year-old father Sajid carried out the attack.
Homemade bombs and firearms
The pair threw four homemade explosive devices. Police described them as three aluminum pipe bombs and a tennis ball bomb containing an explosive, gunpowder and steel ball bearings. The devices failed to detonate but were described as “viable” IEDs.
They also conducted firearms training in an area of New South Wales state outside of Sydney, according to the documents.
Video evidence and the attack plan
Documents were made public after Naveed Akram’s video court appearance from a Sydney hospital where he was treated for an abdominal injury. The footage, found on his phone, shows the men justifying the meticulously planned attack. Police say the video shows them “condemning the acts of Zionists” while also “adhere to a religiously motivated ideology linked to Islamic State.”
A video shot in October shows them firing shotguns and moving in a tactical manner on grassland surrounded by trees. Police allege, “There is evidence that the Accused and his father meticulously planned this terrorist attack for many months.”
The shooting and casualties
Officers wounded Akram at the scene of the Dec. 14 shooting and killed his father. The state government confirmed Naveed was transferred Monday from a hospital to a prison, but did not identify the facility.
Dashcam footage shows a couple, who were killed in the attack, trying to stop one of the gunmen. The pair had rented a room in the Sydney suburb of Campsie for three weeks before leaving at 2:16 a.m. on the day of the attack. CCTV recorded them carrying what police allege were two shotguns, a rifle, five IEDs and two homemade Islamic State flags wrapped in blankets.
Police released images of the gunmen shooting from a footbridge, providing an elevated view and protection from waist-high concrete walls. The largest IED was found near the footbridge in the trunk of the son’s car, which had been left draped with the flags.
Charges and legal context
Authorities have charged Akram with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder, 40 counts of causing harm with intent to murder in relation to the wounded survivors and one count of committing a terrorist act. The attack is Australia’s worst mass shooting since a lone gunman killed 35 people in Tasmania in 1996.
The New South Wales government introduced draft laws on Monday that Premier Chris Minns said would become the toughest in Australia. The new restrictions would make Australian citizenship a condition for qualifying for a firearms licence, which would exclude Sajid Akram, an Indian citizen with a permanent resident visa. Sajid also legally owned six rifles and shotguns; a new limit for recreational shooters would be a maximum of four guns.
Aftermath and memorials
An impromptu memorial that grew near the Bondi Pavilion after the massacre was removed Monday as the beachfront returned to normal activity. The Sydney Jewish Museum will preserve part of the memorial.
Victims’ funerals continued Monday. French national Dan Elkayam’s service was held in Woollahra, at the heart of Sydney’s Jewish life. The 27-year-old moved from Paris to Sydney a year ago. The health department said 12 people wounded in the attack remained in hospitals on Monday.
Key Takeaways
- Naveed and Sajid Akram attempted to kill 15 at Bondi Beach with homemade bombs and firearms.
- They were charged with 59 offences, including 15 murders and one terrorist act.
- New gun-licence laws will require Australian citizenship and limit recreational shooters to four firearms.
The attack, occurring at the start of the eight-day Hanukkah celebration, has left the Bondi community and the nation in mourning and prompted a review of gun-control measures.
