AUSTRALIA: One of the two men suspected of carrying out Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in three decades is expected to be formally charged later on Wednesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, as funerals for the Jewish victims of the Bondi Beach attack began.
The alleged father-and-son attackers opened fire on a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach on Sunday, an incident that shocked the nation and heightened concerns over rising antisemitism and violent extremism.
Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police at the scene, while his 24-year-old son, identified by local media as Naveed, emerged from a coma on Wednesday after also being shot by officers.
Speaking in a podcast interview, Albanese said he expected the surviving suspect to be charged “over the coming hours”. New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said investigators would question the son once his medication wears off and legal counsel is present. He remains under heavy police guard in a Sydney hospital.
Authorities said the suspects had travelled to the southern Philippines a region long affected by militancy weeks before the attack, which police believe was inspired by Daesh, also known as Islamic State.
US President Donald Trump, speaking at a Hanukkah event at the White House, said he was thinking of the victims of what he described as a “horrific and antisemitic terrorist attack,” adding that the United States joined in mourning those killed and praying for the wounded. Funerals for the victims began on Wednesday, including that of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, an assistant rabbi at Chabad Bondi Synagogue and a father of five. Jewish leaders said he was widely respected for his outreach work across Sydney’s Jewish community.
Albanese has faced criticism that his government did not do enough to curb antisemitism during the two-year Israel-Gaza war. He reiterated that the government would work closely with the Jewish community to eradicate antisemitism from Australian society. The government and intelligence agencies are also under pressure to explain how Sajid Akram was able to legally obtain high-powered rifles and shotguns used in the attack. Authorities have already pledged sweeping gun law reforms. Albanese confirmed the younger suspect had been briefly investigated by Australia’s domestic intelligence agency in 2019 over alleged links to Daesh but was not deemed a threat at the time.
Albanese also praised Ahmed al-Ahmed, 43, who tackled one of the gunmen and was shot while disarming him. Al-Ahmed was due to undergo surgery on Wednesday. His family in Syria described him as a hero and said they were proud of his actions.
Meanwhile, the family of 22-year-old police officer Jack Hibbert, who was shot twice while responding to the attack, said he had lost vision in one eye and faced a long recovery. Health authorities said 22 people remained hospitalized across Sydney. Among the victims were a Holocaust survivor, a married couple who initially approached the attackers, and a 10-year-old girl, Matilda. Her father, speaking at a vigil, urged the public to remember her name and legacy.
On Wednesday morning, swimmers gathered at Bondi Beach to observe a minute’s silence, as residents came together to mourn and reflect in the wake of the tragedy.
