Bondi Beach attack probe leads Australia to India

Indian media: Canberra has sought Delhi's help Co-worker claims attacker was of Indian origin Australia moves t

As Australia grappled with grief after the deadly Bondi Beach attack, investigators began looking beyond the shores, tracing the attackers' roots to South Asia and prompting Canberra to seek New Delhi's cooperation.

Australian intelligence authorities formally approached their Indian counterparts to verify the nationality of the Bondi attacker's father, effectively opening an Indian line of inquiry into the case.

The diplomatic outreach cut the ground from under a narrative aggressively pushed by Indian media over the past 24 hours, which, under directives attributed to the Modi government, had falsely portrayed the attackers as being of Pakistani origin.

Police said one of the assailants was a 50-year-old father who was killed in a shootout with officers, while the second attacker, his 24-year-old son, remains in critical condition under police guard.

The pair have since been named by local media as Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed Akram, 24.

New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said Sajid Akram was a licensed firearms holder who had met the eligibility criteria for a recreational hunting licence. He was linked to six firearms, all of which are believed to have been used in the attack.

Home Minister Tony Burke said the father arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa, without specifying the country of origin. The visa was later converted to a partner visa in 2001 and subsequently to a resident return visa.

Naveed Akram is an Australian-born citizen. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that he first came to the attention of authorities in October 2019.

He had been "examined on the basis of being associated with others", Albanese said, "and the assessment was made that there was no indication of any ongoing threat or threat of him engaging in violence".

Australian broadcaster ABC reports that the 24-year-old was examined over his close ties to a Sydney-based IS cell. ABC also reports that counter-terrorism police believe the gunmen pledged allegiance to IS.

Two IS flags were found in the attackers' car, a senior official told ABC. Footage from the scene showed a flag on the bonnet of the vehicle.

Albanese told ABC that while the attackers were acting alone and not as part of a formal cell, they were "clearly" motivated by "extremist ideology".

Police said the pair used "long arms to fire into crowds of people".

Footage circulating online appears to show two gunmen firing from a small bridge near a car park on Campbell Parade, on the northern end of Bondi Beach, towards a parkland area where a Hanukkah event was underway.

In separate footage recorded minutes later, a bystander - later identified as Ahmed al Ahmed - is seen disarming one of the attackers. Mr al Ahmed, a fruit shop owner and father of two, tackled the gunman, seized his weapon and turned it back on him.

 

Tighter gun laws

Albanese convened a meeting of leaders of Australia's states and territories in response on Monday, agreeing with them "to strengthen gun laws across the nation".

Albanese's office said they agreed to explore ways to improve background checks for firearm owners, bar non-nationals from obtaining gun licenses and limit the types of weapons that are legal.

Mass shootings have been rare in Australia since a lone gunman killed 35 people in the town of Port Arthur in 1996, which led to sweeping reforms long seen as a gold standard worldwide.

Those included a gun buyback scheme, a national firearms register and a crackdown on ownership of semi-automatic weapons.

But Sunday's shooting has raised fresh questions about how the two suspects—who public broadcaster ABC reported had possible links to the Islamic State group—obtained the guns.

Police are still piecing together the motive behind the attack, though authorities have confirmed it targeted Jewish civilians.

Albanese called it "an act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism, an act of terrorism on our shores".

A string of antisemitic attacks has spread fear among Australia's Jewish communities after the October 7, 2023, Hamas assault on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza.

Hours after the shooting, police discovered a homemade bomb inside a car parked near the beach, saying the "improvised explosive device" was likely planted by the attackers.

Authorities, wary of inflaming tensions, have avoided commenting publicly on the attackers' religion or ideological motivations.

Meanwhile, misinformation spread rapidly online in the aftermath of the attack, much of it targeting immigrants and the Muslim community.

Police confirmed they responded on Monday to reports of several pig heads being left at a Muslim cemetery in southwestern Sydney.

Amid the chaos, acts of courage also emerged. Several civilians ran towards the danger, navigating panicked crowds to rescue children, treat the wounded and confront the attackers.

A team of off-duty lifeguards sprinted across the sand, dragging children to safety.

"The team ran out under fire to try and clear children from the playground while the gunmen were firing," said Steven Pearce from Surf Life Saving New South Wales.

Bleeding victims were carried across the beach on surfboards repurposed as makeshift stretchers.

(With additional input from agencies)