The father-son duo, who carried out the deadly shooting at Australia’s Bondi Beach during a Jewish Hanukkah event that killed 15 people, carried with them six firearms, all of which were seized by the police from the scene of the massacre.
Naveed Akram, 24, and Sajid Akram, 50, allegedly opened fire on a Jewish Hanukkah event shortly before 7 pm on Sunday at the famous beach. While Sajid Akram was shot dead by police, his son Naveed suffered critical injuries and remains in the hospital.
According to New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon, Naveed and Sajid had six firearms licensed to them. “We are satisfied that we have six firearms from the scene yesterday, but also as a result of the search warrant at the Campsie address,” Lanyon said, adding that ballistics and forensic investigation will determine whether those six firearms are the six that were licensed to that man to confirm that they were used in the offence on Sunday at Bondi.
This is a significant development considering that Australia has tough gun laws. The country tightened laws three decades ago after a gunman armed with semiautomatic weapons killed 35 people at the Port Arthur historic tourist site in Tasmania. As per the National Firearms Agreement, all gun-owners are required to have a license and register their firearms in every jurisdiction.
The people of Australia are learning what multiculturalism really means....
— Richard (@ricwe123) December 14, 2025
(Shooters at Bondi Beach, Australia)#bondibeach pic.twitter.com/KnTCLT2dri
Cops knew Naveed’s ISIS link?
Lanyon added that one of the individuals was known to them, “but not in an immediate threat perspective.” It has been reported that Naveed had earlier been probed by Australia’s domestic intelligence agency in 2019 for his close ties to an ISIS cell. He allegedly was close to members of the cell, including Isaac El Matari, an ISIS terrorist arrested that year who identified himself as the group’s head in Australia. Matari is serving a seven-year prison sentence.
Meanwhile, both gunmen are believed to have pledged allegiance to the ISIS terror group, according to ABC News. The report quoted the Joint Counter Terrorism Team official who said the outlet that the flag had been found in their car close to the attack.
It has also come to notice that the shooters spent the weekend in a short-stay rental home on Brighton Avenue before the massacre.
