Bondi Beach attackers acted alone, police say
Australia’s top cop says no evidence father and son were part of a broader terror cell or directed by others.
(The Times of Israel) A father and son who carried out a mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach “acted alone” and were not part of a wider terrorist cell, Australian police said on Tuesday.
Sajid Akram and his son Naveed killed 15 people in an Islamic State-inspired attack targeting a Jewish festival on December 14.
The pair travelled to the southern Philippines in the weeks before the shooting, fuelling suspicions they may have been linked to extremists in a region with a history of Islamist insurgencies.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said that so far, this did not appear to be the case.
“These individuals are alleged to have acted alone,” she told reporters. “There is no evidence to suggest these alleged offenders were part of a broader terrorist cell, or were directed by others to carry out the attack.”
Barrett said police would continue to probe why the pair travelled to the city of Davao, where CCTV footage showed they barely left their budget hotel.
“I want to be clear. I am not suggesting they were there for tourism,” she said.
Police believe the duo “meticulously planned” the attack for months, and have released images showing them training with shotguns in the Australian countryside.
They also recorded a video in October railing against “Zionists” while sitting in front of a flag of the ISIS jihadist group, police have said.
Sajid Akram, 50, was shot and killed by police during the attack. An Indian national, he entered Australia on a visa in 1998.
His 24-year-old son Naveed, an Australian-born citizen, remains in custody, charged with 15 murders and a litany of other serious offences.