A father responsible for the Bondi Beach massacre kept a low profile and flew under the radar, quietly collecting guns and undertaking military-style training to carry out his terror plot.
Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed Akram, 24, arrived at the Sydney beach in a silver hatchback, and got out with rifles and extra ammunition around their waists just before 6.40pm on Sunday.
Standing on a bridge towards the north end of the beach, they allegedly started shooting at crowds of Jewish people celebrating the first day of Hanukkah – killing 15 people, and injuring 42.
Sajid was shot dead by police, while his son was taken to hospital with bullet wounds for emergency surgery.
He remains in hospital under police guard and will likely face criminal charges, according to NSW Police.
Prior to the attack, Sajid was living a double-life.
On paper, he was a law-abiding citizen with no criminal history.
He had an Australian Business Number and was registered to pay GST from April 2024, which means his income as a sole trader was more than $75,000 per year.
Father and son were not on the terrorism watchlist, and Sajid was a licensed gun owner in NSW with six firearms in his possession, and was a gun club member.
They lived in a suburban three-bedroom home in Bonnyrigg with his wife, Verena Akram, who had no idea about the alleged kill plot – she thought they were on a fishing trip in Jervis Bay, on the NSW south coast.
‘[Naveed] rings me up [on Sunday] and said, “Mum, I just went for a swim. I went scuba diving. We’re going to eat now, and then this morning, and we’re going to stay home now because it’s very hot”,’ she told the Sydney Morning Herald.
But they weren’t in Jervis Bay, they were holed up at a short-term rental in Campsie, in Sydney’s west, with firearms and explosives.
Police seized four weapons at the scene in Bondi, along with others found during a police raid at the short-term rental.
Police revealed on Tuesday that father and son had travelled to the Philippines in the weeks before the terror attack, where they underwent military-style training.
Philippine immigration authorities said the pair travelled internationally using their Indian passports.
Davao was their final destination, according to a spokesperson.
They left the country on a connecting flight from Davao to Manila, on the way back to Sydney, in November.
AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett said on Tuesday the alleged killers were ‘interested only in a quest for a death tally’.
‘We will not forget how that shocking attack forced Jews around the world to relive modern-day terror.
‘Early indications point to a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State … these are the alleged actions of those who have aligned themselves with a terrorist organisation, not a religion.’
Australia’s domestic intelligence agency, ASIO, investigated Naveed Akram in 2019 after uncovering his associations with a Sydney-based IS cell, according to the ABC.
The national broadcaster also reported Naveed had links to Wisam Haddad, who has ties to Australian jihadists.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday the ASIO investigation was dropped after six months because there was ‘no evidence’ Sajid and Naveed had been radicalised.
He later said: ‘Clearly, they were motivated by this extremist ideology, and further detail, of course, will be released when the police go through their work.’
The NSW police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, would not comment on reports of a manifesto or black Islamic State flag reportedly found in the car father and son drove to Bondi.
