Bondi Beach attack ‘inspired’ by Isis, Australian police say

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The alleged perpetrators of a terror attack on a Jewish event in Sydney on Sunday night were inspired by Isis and had travelled to the Philippines last month, according to Australian authorities.

Krissy Barrett, Australian Federal Police commissioner, told a press conference on Tuesday that “early indications point to a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State, allegedly committed by a father and son”. 

She said that there was no evidence that other individuals were involved in the attack, adding: “However, we caution that this could change, given it is early in our investigation.”

The attack on Sunday targeted a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach, one of Australia’s most famous landmarks, and claimed the lives of 15 people. Health officials said 24 people remain in hospital, including three children. 

Mal Lanyon, the New South Wales police commissioner, confirmed reports that the two gunmen — named by police on Tuesday as Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed, 24 — travelled to the Philippines last month.

He said that it is not known what their movements were in the country. “We continue to work through the motive of this tragedy.”

The statements from authorities followed a report by broadcaster ABC Australia that said the pair had travelled to the southern Philippines for military training weeks before they launched the attack, which came on the first night of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights.

Lanyon also confirmed that the vehicle used by the gunmen had contained two homemade Isis flags. Footage published online on Tuesday, captured by the dashcam of a passing car, showed a black flag draped over the windshield of the shooters’ vehicle, which was later found to contain two explosive devices.

The footage also showed two people attempting to stop one of the gunmen.

Sajid, who was intercepted and disarmed by a bystander, died at the scene. Naveed is in custody, in a coma.

Australia’s police response and intelligence services have come under criticism in the wake of the attack, which was the deadliest in Australia in almost three decades.

The younger gunman had been investigated by Australian intelligence services in 2019 due to his associations with other people being probed, but he was deemed to be of no direct threat.

Australia has also moved to toughen its gun laws after the older gunman was found to have legally owned six high-powered ‘long-arm’ weapons. 

Chris Taylor, a security analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think-tank, said that one of the gunmen’s alleged “historical association with Isis sympathisers” failing to elicit a response showed that intelligence agencies need to “further evolve to better address such threats”.

Chris Minns, New South Wales state premier, pushed back on criticism of the initial police response during the attack, and the amount of time gunmen were able to fire into the Jewish event before they were shot by officers. 

“Now there are two officers in critical care in New South Wales hospitals at the moment,” Minns said. “They weren’t shot in the back as they were running away. They were shot in the front.”