Naveed Akram, the surviving suspect in Sunday’s mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one of committing a terrorist act, according to the New South Wales Police.
The other gunman, his father Sajid Akram, 50, was killed in an exchange of fire with police at the scene.
Fifteen people were killed and dozens of others were injured in the attack, which targeted Australia’s Jewish community at an event celebrating the first night of Hanukkah.
It was the country’s deadliest shooting since 1996.
Akram also faces 40 charges of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to murder, as well as one charge of causing a public display of a prohibited terrorist organisation symbol.
He was critically injured during the incident on Sunday, and had his first hearing from his hospital bedside, the local New South Wales court said.
The case has been adjourned until April 2026, the court added.
Earlier on Wednesday, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said they were waiting for medication to wear off before formally questioning Akram.
“For his fairness, we need him to understand what is exactly happening,” Lanyon said.
Twenty people injured in the attack remain in hospitals across Sydney, with one person still in a critical condition.
Police have designated the attack a terrorist incident, with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying it appears to have been “motivated by Islamic State” group ideology.
Police said “homemade” Islamic State group flags and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have been found in the vehicle used by the gunmen.
On Tuesday, it emerged that the father and son had travelled to the Philippines a month before the attack at Bondi Beach.
The Philippine immigration bureau told the BBC that they were in the country from 1 November to 28 November. Their final destination was the southern city of Davao, an immigration spokesperson said.
Naveed Akram travelled to the Philippines using an Australian passport, while his father Sajid used an Indian passport, border authorities in Manila told the BBC.
Sajid Akram was originally from the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, but had “limited contact” with his family there, a police official from the Indian state of Telangana said.
Source: BBC
- Agencies
