What we know about alleged Bondi gunmen as police give weapons update
Questions have been raised regarding both the identity and motive had by the two gunmen who opened fire on Bondi Beach this weekend.
While celebrating the Jewish religious festival Hanukkah on Sunday (14 December), 15 people were killed after two alleged attackers fired guns from a nearby bridge in what has since been declared an antisemitic terrorist incident.
The ages of those understood to have died range from 10 and 87 years, as per police reports.
On top of the victims, dozens of other beachgoers are receiving hospital treatment with injuries ranging from minor to critical, including two police officers who remain in a serious condition.
Who were the suspected gunmen?
Officials later identified the two alleged attackers as a father and son - Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24.
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The only image released of the two men shows one of them being wrestled by heroic bystander Ahmed al-Ahmed, who obtains one of his weapons while forcing him to retreat.
The former was killed by officers on the scene, while the latter is reportedly in critical condition in hospital.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon told press during a news conference on Monday (15 December): "What’s really important is to say we do have a 24-year-old male in hospital at the moment."
He added: "Based on his medical condition, it is likely that that person may face criminal charges. I’m very mindful of not prejudicing any prosecution of that person, if they’re put before the court."
Lanyon described Sajid as a 'licensed firearms holder who had six firearms licensed to him'. It was also emphasised that he 'met the eligibility criteria for a firearms licence'.
Four of these weapons were seized at the scene in Bondi, with a further amount also having been found during a police raid at a house in Campsie, in south-west Sydney.
What were their intentions?
According to The Guardian, Naveed - who worked as a bricklayer - had also been known to New South Wales police for some time, as well as the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) since 2019.
The country's Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, told press that he'd been examined for six months because of his alleged associations with others.
Meanwhile, ABC understands that the counter-terror investigation involved an Islamic State cell.
"[He] was examined on the basis of being associated with others and the assessment was made that there was no indication of any ongoing threat or threat of him engaging in violence," Albanese explained, later adding, however, that there was 'no evidence that these people were part of a cell'.
The politician continued: "Clearly, they were motivated by this extremist ideology, and further detail, of course, will be released when the police go through their work."
Despite Naveed's former bricklaying employer initially describing him as a hard worker who never had time off, he added that he'd recently claimed to have broken his wrist and claimed to be unable to work.
"He asked for all his entitlements paid up, annual leave and everything, but a lot of guys do that at end of year anyway," the anonymous manager told The Guardian. "Now you can’t help but think, him getting all his money out, what’s he going to spend it on."
The employer added that he was aware Naveed came 'from a Muslim background', but said he never discussed religion at work. He added that he believed his workers' parents had split up, and that he was close to his father.
Police have since declared that they're not looking for any other suspects at this point.
Who were the victims?
Among those to have already been identified are 41-year-old British-born Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who worked as an assistant at Chabad Bondi - a global Jewish organisation that had organised Sunday's Hanukkah celebration.
He had lived in Sydney for the last 18 years and had recently welcomed his fifth child.
"He would listen to their stories, feed them and make sure they had meals and kosher products," his friend Alex Ryvchin - co-CEO of the executive council of Australian Jewry - told press. "He was the sort of person who illuminated our lives with kindness, his grace and generosity."
Retired policeman and rugby volunteer Peter Meagher was also killed while working as a freelance photographer at the event.
"The tragic irony is that he spent so long in the dangerous front line as a Police Officer and was struck down in retirement while taking photos in his passion role is really hard to comprehend," Randwick Rugby Club said in a statement.
Dan Elkayam, a French national in his 20s, had gone down to celebrate at the festival, where he was also struck down.
He'd worked supplying technical support to global media company NBC Universal in Sydney since last December, and was 'an extremely talented and popular figure', according to his Rockdale Ilinden Football Club premier league squad.
A 10-year-old primary school student named Matilda was among those killed, with the Harmony Russian School of Sydney describing the child on Facebook as a 'bright, joyful, and spirited child who brought light to those around her'.
Another victim was Reuven Morrison, who a local Jewish news outlet described as 'a member of the Chabad community who divided his time between Melbourne and Sydney'.
Alex Kleytman, an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor attending the celebration with his wife, Larisa - also a Holocaust survivor - their children and grandchildren, was also killed, along with another Rabbi, Yaakov Levitan, who'd served as secretary of the Sydney Jewish religious organisation Beth Din.
Topics: Crime, News, World News, Australia
Rhianna Benson