Sydney shooting: Terrorist father and son went out for a weekend getaway, Pakistani connection also revealed

New Delhi: The identities of the terrorists who killed 16 people in a shooting spree at Bondi Beach in Australia have been revealed. They are a father and son. During the Hanukkah celebration, a Jewish festival, at Bondi Beach in Sydney, 50-year-old Sajid Akram and his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram brutally opened fire on people celebrating the festival on the beach.

According to the international news agency CBS, Naveed Akram is a Pakistani national. New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said in a news conference that the 50-year-old terrorist was shot dead by police, while the 24-year-old terrorist Naveed is hospitalized. They are father and son. Terrorist Naveed Akram also has a driving license from New South Wales, Australia. So far, 16 people have died and 40 are injured in this attack.

The terrorists involved in the attack, Sajid Akram and Naveed Akram, had told their family that they were going fishing at the southern coast. After that, they carried out this attack.

After learning about terrorist Naveed’s background, police surrounded his house in Bonnyrigg, west of Sydney. While speaking to the media, Naveed’s mother Verena said that her son, who was an unemployed bricklayer, had last spoken to the family on Sunday morning. She said that he had gone to Jervis Bay with his father for the weekend.

Six licensed weapons recovered from Sajid
Lanyon said that investigators recovered six licensed weapons from the suspect at the scene. He further added that Sajid had a gun license for about ten years. Police said an improvised explosive device (IED) and an ISIS flag were found in the car of one of the suspects.

Police say the 50-year-old gunman, who was killed by police after the deadly attack at Bondi Beach last night, had a gun license for recreational hunting. NSW Police Commissioner Mick Lanyon said Sajid Akram was a member of a gun club and was entitled to hold a firearms license under state law.

“We will be investigating the motive behind this attack, and I think that’s a crucial part of the investigation,” Lanyon said. More than 1,000 people gathered at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the gunman was “deliberately targeting the Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah.”

Naveed, who worked as a bricklayer, lost his job two months ago
The Australian newspaper Sydney Morning Herald spoke to Naveed’s mother, Verena. She said, “He called me on Sunday and said, ‘Mom, I just went swimming, I also did scuba diving, we’re going to eat now, and then we’ll stay home this morning because it’s very hot.'”

Verena said her son didn’t own any weapons. He didn’t go out much or meet friends. He didn’t drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes. According to Verena, her son didn’t frequent questionable places. He was just focused on his work. Akram was laid off from his bricklaying job about two months ago because the company he worked for went bankrupt.

Naveed wasn’t very social
Verena said that while he had several friends during his high school days at Cabramatta High School, he wasn’t very social. Akram was tagged in a 2022 social media post that showed he had completed his Quranic studies at the Al-Murad Institute. This institute provides Arabic and Quranic education in Heckenberg, Western Sydney. The post has since been deleted.

The victims of the attack ranged in age from 10 to 87 years old. NSW Health Minister Ryan Park confirmed that the youngest victim died at Sydney Children’s Hospital. Akram’s mother is a housewife. Akram lived with his father, his 22-year-old younger sister, and his 20-year-old brother. The three-bedroom property was purchased in 2024. The family previously lived in Cabramatta.