Bondi Beach shooting: suspect faces 15 murder charges
Australian police have charged 24-year-old Naveed Akram, who survived the mass shooting on Bondi Beach in Sydney, with 59 criminal charges, including 15 counts of premeditated murder and a charge of committing a terrorist act. This was reported by The Public with reference to BBC.
According to the New South Wales State Police, the attack took place during the Jewish community's event on the occasion of the first night of Hanukkah. The attack killed 15 people and injured more than 40 others. This is the deadliest shooting in Australia since 1996.
The suspect is in critical condition in hospital and has already appeared in court in a remote session. The case was postponed until April 2026. The police are waiting for Akram's condition to allow for a full interrogation.
The attacker's father, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, died during a shootout with police at the scene. Investigators found that the father and son had been in the Philippines for almost a month before the attack in November.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the attack had signs of ideological motivation and was likely linked to the extremist views of the ISIS group. The attack has been officially recognised as a terrorist attack.
As of the evening of 17 December, 17 victims remain in Sydney hospitals, one of them in critical condition. Among the dead are two rabbis, a Holocaust survivor, and a 10-year-old girl. Police also confirmed that two law enforcement officers were injured, one of them partially losing his eyesight.
Mourning events continue in the city, memorials have been erected, and funerals for the victims of the tragedy will take place in the coming days.
