Naveed Akram Charged Over Bondi Hanukkah Attack with Multiple Offences Including Murder
Naveed Akram, 24, has been charged with dozens of offences, including 15 counts of murder, in relation to the Bondi Hanukkah attack that occurred on 14 December. During the attack, four undetonated explosives were thrown at the start, one of which was a tennis ball bomb. Sajid Akram, Naveed's father and the second alleged gunman, was shot dead during the incident.
The police have linked the motivation for the attack to violent extremist ideology associated with ISIS, citing a video manifesto recorded by the Akrams in October that featured an Islamic State flag. Another video reportedly shows the pair conducting firearms training in rural New South Wales during the same month.
Authorities revealed that the Akrams meticulously planned the attack for months. CCTV footage shows them conducting reconnaissance two days before the attack and additional surveillance from Campsie. On the day of the attack, CCTV captures the pair leaving Campsie hours beforehand, carrying long, bulky items wrapped in blankets, which included three firearms, homemade bombs, and two ISIS flags.
During the attack, three homemade pipe bombs and the tennis ball bomb were thrown toward the footbridge but failed to detonate; police confirmed these were viable explosive devices. Earlier, a fifth explosive device was also discovered in their vehicle.
Naveed Akram was shot in the abdomen during the attack and subsequently released from hospital. He did not appear at his Monday court hearing and was transferred to prison. Additionally, a temporary suppression order protecting the identities of some survivors was revoked following media applications, though most survivors’ names remain redacted.
