Authorities are investigating a trip made by the alleged terrorists to the Philippines. Photo / Christian Gilles, NewsWire
Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon says they are getting ready to speak with Naveed Akram, one of two gunmen accused of a mass shooting on Bondi Beach.
The 24-year-old with his father Sajid Akram, 50, allegedly shot at a group of people attending a Jewish event Chanukah By The Sea at the iconic Aussie destination on Sunday night, killing 15 people.
Sajid was shot dead by police, while Naveed was taken to hospital where he woke from a coma on Tuesday night.
Police have spoken to Akram in hospital, Lanyon confirmed to 2GB, but “only from a custody perspective”.
“Our investigators have been waiting for the effects of medication to wear off and for him to have access to a legal adviser,” he said.
“I expect that will happen this morning.”
Anthony Albanese has thanked medical workers outside a Sydney hospital after the Bondi massacre.
“On one occasion, [there was] 12 minutes between someone arriving at the emergency department here at St Vincent’s [Hospital] and being on the operating table,” the Prime Minister said, speaking at a hospital in Sydney’s east.
“They saved lives in a traumatic experience, they responded with professionalism, with compassion and with the best of Australian values.
“And today was an opportunity for myself and the Governor-General to say thank you on behalf of Australians to the doctors, the surgeons, the nurses, the pathologists, the radiologists, the people who engaged in providing assistance to people in circumstances that were incredibly traumatic.”
Albanese also delivered a frank warning after being asked about Labor’s actions in response to the attacks.
“It is difficult, and this is something the world is dealing with,” he said.
“It is, indeed, as you identify, hard to legislate against such massive hatred and people who have this perversion of Islam that leads them to support Islamic State and to have a view that somehow there is some reward for them, there is not. They are evil.
“We need to make sure that we do whatever is within our powers. Now that means education.
“It means as well, stamping out, calling out evil when we see it, and we’ll continue to do so, not just as a government, but as a nation as well.”
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has lashed John Howard over his scathing critique of the federal Government’s gun reform agenda, accusing current and former politicians of trying to “diminish or downplay” the role of reforms.
Howard, who oversaw the Government’s response to the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, said moves to further strict firearms were an “attempted diversion” during a raucous visit to the Bondi Beach memorial site on Tuesday.
Chalmers defended the Albanese Government’s response to the attack on Wednesday, stating Howard “of all people, should understand how important this is”.
“Frankly, in relation to Mr Howard, I don’t know why after a mass shooting, some politicians – some current and some former – are trying to diminish our efforts to tighten our gun laws,” he told ABC Radio National.
The National Security Committee of Cabinet agreed this week to work towards potentially tightening gun laws, including limits on how many firearms a person can own and a renewed focus on a national firearms register.
The Albanese Government has, though, been accused of not doing enough to also tackle anti-Semitism after the Bondi attack that left 16 people dead, including Sajid Akram who, with his son Naveed, allegedly opened fire on a Jewish Hanukkah event on Sunday.
Chalmers said the Government did not see the two issues – gun reform and anti-Semitism – as “an either-or”.
“We’re focused on both of those things simultaneously, countering these horrifying and evil acts of anti-Semitism at the same time as we tighten our gun laws,” he said.
Chalmers acknowledged the Jewish community was “extremely angry”.
“We understand that emotions are raw and for good reasons,” he said.
“But, the government has acted on a number of the Segal report recommendations,” he continued, referencing special envoy to combat anti-Semitism Jillian Segal’s 2025 report.
“We’ve also taken some very decisive steps to combat anti-Semitism. I mean, there’s a long list of things that we have progressed.”
Chalmers noted sanctions on neo-Nazi groups and a “landmark ban” on the Nazi salute as well as criminalisation of doxxing and funds for security at Jewish sites and schools.
Penny Wong has refused to reveal details of a meeting with her Philippine counterpart after it was revealed the two alleged Bondi gunmen visited the Southeast Asian country shortly before the Bondi terror attack.
Police confirmed the alleged terrorists travelled to the Philippines in November and returned to Australia before the end of the month.
Philippine immigration authorities said the two men listed the southern city of Davao as their final destination.
Davao City is the largest city in Mindanao, a terrorism hotspot where Isis-affiliated groups have been active.
Senator Wong was asked by the ABC whether the pair’s travel – given one of them had previously been on an ASIO watchlist – should have been on the radar of intelligence authorities.
“Well, I know it has been confirmed that the attackers travelled to the Philippines prior to this attack,” she said.
“Obviously, as the NSW Police have said, their visit and why they were there, where they went, and so on is part of the active investigation,” Senator Wong said.
“So, some of the matters that you’re referring to are not matters that I can comment on at this point in the investigation.”
Senator Wong also confirmed she had met with her Philippine counterpart, Tess Lazaro, but declined to go into the details of the meeting.
“You probably understand I can’t go into the all details of our discussion, but I can say that we, Australia and the Philippines, are longstanding partners on regional security and on related matters, and that will continue,” she said.
Lazaro had conveyed her “sincere condolences” to Senator Wong over the phone, the Filipino diplomat said in a statement online.
The Philippines stood “firmly in solidarity” with Australia, and would continue to co-operate on security and law enforcement matters, the statement read.
“We reaffirm our support for efforts that protect communities from intolerance, hatred, and violence,” she said.
A former intelligence chief has cautioned against hindsight criticism of Australian intelligence agencies but highlighted a key detail that could have provided earlier insight for Asio into the motivations of the Bondi attackers.
The alleged gunmen’s trip to a terrorism hotspot in the Philippines – just weeks before the Isis-inspired massacre – should have alerted authorities, given the younger man had years earlier been investigated for associations with Isis cells in Sydney, ex-AFP Superintendent David Craig told Sky News.
“When they departed the country, it should have been raised as an alert and they could have been spoken to on the way back, their luggage could have (been) searched, we would know more about it and that would have been proactive,” he said.
“So that was the trip-wire that I say we missed because if they were ever a concern that they were related to Islamic State, we should always know if they are leaving the country or their associates are coming here.”
He cautioned against blaming Asio failures for the attack, saying: “I think we first have to understand how these assessments are actually made.
“Back in 2019, there may not have actually been a threat. I’ve been a part of these assessments and people work very hard. They know if they get it wrong, people die,” he said.
The first funerals for the victims of the Bondi massacre will take place today, as tributes continue to pour in for the lives lost to tragedy.
The school attended by the youngest victim, 10-year-old Matilda, has broken its silence to share “beautiful memories” of their “little ray of sunshine”.
“She is genuinely the most kind, caring, and compassionate young girl, who brightened everyone’s day with her radiant smile and infectious laugh,” the school said in a statement.
“Matilda has an incredible gift for bringing joy to those around her.
“ … from choreographing dances on the playground to K-Pop Demon Hunters, losing her glasses that were actually on her head, to facing her fears and bravely presenting her speech in front of her classmates, Matilda has a strength and joy for life that we will always cherish and remember.”
Matilda’s parents broke their silence on Tuesday night about the devastation of losing their eldest daughter.
“We came here from Ukraine … and I named her Matilda because she was our firstborn in Australia. And I thought that Matilda was the most Australian name that could ever exist,” her father Michael told the crowds at Bondi Pavilion.
“So just remember – remember her name.”
Up to six people killed in the attack are set to be buried in Sydney today, including Rabbi Eli Schlanger.
Alleged Bondi shooter Naveed Akram has reportedly woken from his almost 48-hour coma, while the hero who stopped him has spoken publicly for the first time about his extraordinary act.
Ahmed Al Ahmed, who courageously disarmed a shooter and is recovering in hospital from gunshot wounds, spoke on Tuesday from his hospital bed.
Al Ahmed expressed his gratitude for “the efforts of everyone”.
“Through Allah, I went through a very difficult phase, only Allah knows it,” he said.
“I ask my mother, the apple of my eye, to pray for me. Pray for me, my mother.
“God willing, it will be a minor injury.”
Locals have described Al Ahmed as a “lovely man” who has always been kind and generous to his community.
Alleged Bondi gunman Sajid Akram was originally from the southern Indian state of Telangana, with his extended family having “no knowledge” of his radicalisation, local police say.
The 50-year-old migrated to Australia in search of employment in November 1998 and had “limited contact” with his family, who live in the state’s capital, Hyderabad.
“He visited India on six occasions after migrating to Australia, primarily for family-related reasons such as property matters and visits to his elderly parents,” Telangana State Police said in a statement.
“It is understood that he did not travel to India even at the time of his father’s demise.”
Authorities said they had no “adverse” record of Akram before he left for Australia 27 years ago.
“The family members have expressed no knowledge of his radical mindset or activities, nor of the circumstances that led to his radicalisation,” the statement read.
“The factors that led to the radicalisation of Sajid Akram and his son, Naveed, appear to have no connection with India or any local influence in Telangana.”
The death toll from the horrific terror attack remains at 15 victims, with 22 others still receiving care in hospital.
Three remain in a critical condition and another three remain in a critical but stable condition.
Patients continue to be discharged but some may return to hospital for further treatment.
On Tuesday, Jewish community leader Edith Brutman became the latest person to be identified as a victim of the terror attack.
Brutman was vice-president of B’nai B’rith NSW – the state’s branch of the Jewish community service organisation with outlets all over the world.
A married couple in their 60s, who were killed after wrestling one of the shooters away from his gun on the side of the road, were also identified.
Boris, 69, and Sofia Gurman, 61, were killed during the Bondi shooting after they gave their lives in an attempt to stop 50-year-old Sajid Akram.
Twelve of the 15 victims have now been identified from the massacre.
The names of the dead were read out by Rabbi Yossi Friedman throughout the day on Tuesday, including French national Dan Elkayam, Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, Alex Kleytman, Reuven Morrison, Peter Meagher, Tibor Weitzen and Marika Pogany.
Also on Tuesday, NSW Premier Chris Minns revealed only two police officers were on site when the two gunmen opened fire on the crowd of about 1000 people celebrating the Jewish festival at Chanukah by the Sea at Bondi.
“My understanding is that there were two in the park during or at the beginning of the shooting, the assassinations. And there were police in the vicinity, so a patrol car pulled up within moments of the firing beginning,” he told host Sharri Markson.
Philippine officials have also confirmed that Sajid Akram travelled there using an Indian passport before the attack.
The pair arrived from Sydney on November 1 and left on November 28, an agency spokesman said.
Areas in the nation’s south reportedly have high concentrations of extremists, including terror training camps.
Police also revealed that Sajid Akram had held a gun licence since 2023.
“He was licensed to hold a Category AB licence, and the firearms that we have seized were attached to that licence appropriately,” Commissioner Mal Lanyon said.
He also revealed two ISIS flags were found in one of the vehicles at the scene.
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