Gunmen at Bondi Beach Also Used Pipe Bombs During Attack, Say Authorities
The two assailants who fired shots at a Hanukkah gathering in Sydney, Australia, earlier this month also tossed homemade explosives into the crowd, but fortunately, the devices failed to explode. Prior to the incident, the suspects scouted the Bondi Beach vicinity. Moreover, they had previously recorded themselves training with weapons in a rural area. They also produced a video in front of an Islamic State flag, apparently discussing their motivations behind the attack. These revelations regarding the two individuals—identified as a father and son who, according to Australian authorities, were influenced by Islamic State, or ISIS—were included in charging documents submitted by law enforcement against the surviving suspect. On Monday, the court directed that these documents be made public following a request from local news outlets.
The unveiling of this information comes as officials in Australia and internationally work to piece together the two men’s activities leading up to their violent episode. The men had traveled to the Philippines shortly before the assault, prompting concerns about a potential resurgence of extremism in the southern region of the country. Authorities in Hyderabad, India, where the father was originally from and raised, have commenced questioning his family members who are still in the area.
The Australian authorities have disclosed that the two suspects are Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed, his 24-year-old son. The father died at the scene, while the authorities have charged the son with offenses including murder, terrorism, and deliberately causing serious injury with intent to kill. The police documents provide a detailed account of the actions taken by the two men leading up to their assault, which claimed the lives of 15 individuals, including a 10-year-old girl, and left many others injured.
Aside from shooting into the gathering at Bondi Beach during the Hanukkah celebration, the two men allegedly hurled four homemade explosive devices into the crowd, according to police. These devices—identified by law enforcement as comprising three pipe bombs and one tennis ball bomb—did not activate. Additionally, authorities uncovered another sizable homemade explosive device in the trunk of a vehicle parked nearby, which was registered under the son’s name. The vehicle also contained two hand-painted Islamic State flags displayed in the front and rear windshields, making them visible to passersby. The two assailants were equipped with three weapons—a pair of single-barrel shotguns and one Beretta rifle, police reported.
The police assert that the assailants meticulously organized this terrorist act over several months, citing evidence that includes videos found later on Naveed Akram’s iPhone. The police report described a video filmed in October, showing the two men sitting in front of an image of the Islamic State flag, with four long firearms leaning against the wall behind them. In the recording, Naveed supposedly recited a passage from the Quran in Arabic. Subsequently, he and his father “made several statements concerning their intentions for the ‘Bondi attack’ and denouncing the actions of ‘Zionists,'” according to police. The document does not elaborate further on the statements made by the duo.
Another recording, also filmed in October, seemingly depicted the father and son practicing with firearms in a rural area believed to be located in New South Wales. The footage shows the pair firing shotguns and “operating in a tactical manner,” as stated by police. Furthermore, authorities believe the suspects scouted Bondi Beach two days prior to the incident. Closed-circuit video revealed two individuals—whom law enforcement suspects to be the Akrams—driving to the beach on the night of December 12, proceeding to walk across the same footbridge from which they would later open fire. “This serves as evidence of reconnaissance and planning for a terrorist act,” the police reported.
Following the shooting on December 14, investigators searched the Akrams’ residence located in the Bonnyrigg suburb of western Sydney and discovered a homemade wooden firearm, a longbow with twelve arrows, and a copy of the Quran with certain passages underscored, as per police reports. Officials spoke with Naveed Akram’s mother, who mentioned that her husband and son had departed approximately a week prior on what she thought was a holiday in the southern region of the state. She recounted that her son would call her each morning from a payphone, discussing his plans for the day, according to the police. Additionally, law enforcement searched a property in the Campsie suburb, where the two men had rented a room this month. There, they found firearm components, some of which were 3D-printed, additional weapons, a suspected homemade bomb, bomb-making supplies, and two copies of the Quran.
Published: 2025-12-23 01:48:00
source: www.nytimes.com
