On Sunday, 14 December, two gunmen, father Sajid Akram (50) and son Naveed Akram (24), allegedly attacked Jewish Australians celebrating the first day of the Jewish festival Hanukkah, from a footbridge near Archer Park, targeting around 1,000 attendees. Committing a ruthless Bondi massacre, they allegedly shot and killed 15 innocent people aged 10 to 87 and seriously injuring 42 some in critical condition. Many of them are fighting for their lives in hospitals. The injured include police officers and bystanders.
The son remained on the bridge while shooting, the father moved down towards the park, to shoot from a closer range. While he was doing so, a good Samaritan, jumped on him from behind, tackled him and snatched his gun away from him, disarming him, saving many lives.
Once disarmed, the father moved back to the bridge where he was seen again shooting innocent people but was killed by police. The son was seriously injured, has survived and is recovering in hospital, after initially going into coma.
Originally thought to be from Pakistan, the father, Sajid, was a resident of Hyderabad (Telangana India). After completing a Bachelor of Commerce degree, he came to Australia as a student in 1998, and married a woman of European origin in 2000 and settled down under. He had two children, son Naveed Akram and a daughter both Australian by birth.
Radicalized locally
What would be seriously worrying the Albanese government is the fact that Sajid was radicalized in Australia. As per the Indian government, his radicalization shows no local links in India.
“The factors that led to the radicalisation appear to have no connection with India,” an Indian government official said.
Local authorities concede that the attackers were driven by Islamic State (IS) ideology.
Two homemade IS flags and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were recovered from a vehicle registered in Naveed’s name near the beach shortly after the attack.
A video also has surfaced of Naveed Akram taking part in a recruit drive called ‘Street Dawah’ in which he can be seen promoting Islam and asking others to join. The video was allegedly recorded on 6 June 2019 in or in front of Bankstown station.
The government has conceded that Naveed Akram had come on their radar for his association with ISIS players in 2019.
A further revelation that the father Sajid was given the license to own a firearm in 2023.
It has been also reported that they both traveled to Philippines from November 1 to November 28 and received military style training. Within two weeks, they unleashed terror on Bondi festival goers.