MANILA: The Philippines’ national security adviser on Wednesday said that the father and son who allegedly opened fire on a Jewish Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach did not receive any form of military training while in the country last month.
The alleged father-and-son perpetrators opened fire on the celebration at Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach on Sunday, killing 15 in an attack that shook the nation and intensified fears of rising anti-Semitism and violent extremism.
Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police at the scene, while his 24-year-old son, Naveed Akram, emerged from a coma on Tuesday afternoon after also being shot by police. On Tuesday, it emerged that Sajid was originally from the Indian city of Hyderabad, with police saying his family did not know about his “radical mindset”.
In a statement, Philippine National Security Advisor Eduardo Ao said that a mere visit to the country does not substantiate allegations of terrorist training and the duration of their stay would not have permitted any meaningful or structured training.
Ao said the government was investigating the two men’s travel from November 1 to 28 and coordinating with Australian authorities to determine the purpose of the visit, dismissing media reports portraying the southern Philippines as a hotspot for violent extremism as “outdated” and “misleading”.
Immigration records show the pair landed in Manila and travelled to Davao City in Mindanao, a region long-plagued by militancy, before the attack that Australian police say appeared to have been inspired by the Islamic State.
Since the 2017 Marawi siege, a five-month battle in which the Islamic State-inspired Maute group seized the southern city and fought government forces, Philippine troops have significantly degraded ISIS-affiliated groups, Ao said.
“The remnants of these groups have been fragmented, deprived of leadership, and operationally degraded,” he added.
Earlier today, one of the alleged gunmen was charged with 59 offences, including murder and terrorism, police said.
New South Wales Police said on Wednesday that a man had been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder, 40 counts of wounding with attempt to murder, as well as a terror offence and other charges.
“Police will allege in court the man engaged in conduct that caused death, serious injury and endangered life to advance a religious cause and cause fear in the community,” it said in a statement.
“Early indications point to a terrorist attack inspired by ISIS, a listed terrorist organisation in Australia”.
A court filing on Wednesday named Naveed, who remains in a Sydney hospital under heavy police guard, as the man charged.
Australian state to pass emergency gun laws
Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales state where the attack took place, told a news conference on Wednesday that parliament would return on December 22 to hear “urgent” reforms, including capping the number of firearms allowed by a single person and making certain types of shotguns harder to access.
The state government will also look at reforms making it harder to hold large street protests after terror events, in order to prevent further tensions.
“We’ve got a monumental task in front of us. It’s huge,” he said.
“It’s a huge responsibility to pull the community together. I think we need a summer of calm and togetherness, not division.”
Naveed remains in a Sydney hospital under heavy police guard. The men accused of carrying out Sunday’s attack had travelled to the southern Philippines, weeks before the shooting that Australian police said appeared to be inspired by Islamic State.
US President Donald Trump told a Hanukkah event at the White House late on Tuesday that he was thinking of the victims of the “horrific and anti-Semitic terrorist attack”.
“We join in mourning all of those who were killed, and we’re praying for the swift recovery of the wounded,” he said.
Trump called for a global fight against “radical Islamic terrorism”.
“All nations must stand together against the evil forces of radical Islamic terrorism, and we’re doing that,” he said.
Funerals begin
Funerals of the Jewish victims of Sunday’s attack began on Wednesday, amid anger over how the gunmen — one of whom was briefly investigated for links to extremists — were allowed access to powerful firearms.
A funeral for Rabbi Eli Schlanger, an assistant rabbi at Chabad Bondi Synagogue and a father of five, was held on Wednesday.
He was known for his work for Sydney’s Jewish community through Chabad, a global organisation fostering Jewish identity and connection.
Schlanger would travel to prisons and meet with Jewish people living in Sydney’s public housing communities, Jewish leader Alex Ryvchin said on Monday.
Albanese is facing criticism that his centre-left government did not do enough to prevent the spread of anti-Semitism in Australia during the two-year Israel-Gaza war.
“We will work with the Jewish community, we want to stamp out and eradicate anti-Semitism from our society,” Albanese told reporters.
The government and intelligence services are also under pressure to explain why Sajid was allowed to legally acquire the high-powered rifles and shotguns used in the attack. The government has already promised sweeping reforms to gun laws.
His son, meanwhile, was briefly investigated by Australia’s domestic intelligence agency in 2019 over alleged links to Islamic State, but there was no evidence at the time he posed a threat, Albanese said.
Man praised as hero to undergo surgery
Albanese said Ahmed al-Ahmed, 43, the man who tackled one of the shooters to disarm his rifle and suffered gunshot wounds, was due to undergo surgery on Wednesday.
Al-Ahmed’s uncle, Mohammed al-Ahmed in Syria, said his nephew left his hometown in Syria’s northwest province of Idlib nearly 20 years ago to seek work in Australia.
“We learned through social media. I called his father and he told me that it was Ahmed. Ahmed is a hero, we’re proud of him. Syria in general is proud of him,” the uncle told Reuters.
The family of 22-year-old police officer Jack Hibbert, who was shot twice on Sunday and had been on the force for just four months, said in a statement on Wednesday that he had lost vision in one eye and faced a “long and challenging recovery” ahead.
“In the face of a violent and tragic incident, he responded with courage, instinct, and selflessness, continuing to protect and help others whilst injured, until he was physically no longer able to,” the family said.
Health authorities said 22 people were still in several Sydney hospitals.
Holocaust survivor among victims
Other shooting victims included a Holocaust survivor, a husband and wife who first approached the gunmen before they started firing, and a 10-year-old girl named Matilda, according to interviews, officials and media reports.
Matilda’s father told a Bondi vigil on Tuesday night he did not want his daughter’s legacy to be forgotten.
“We came here from Ukraine and I thought that Matilda is the most Australian name that can ever exist. So just remember the name, remember her,” local media reported him as saying.
In Bondi on Wednesday, swimmers gathered on Sydney’s most popular beach and held a minute’s silence.
“This week has obviously been very profound, and this morning, I definitely feel a sense of the community getting together, and a sense of everyone sitting together,” Archie Kalaf, a 24-year-old Bondi man, told Reuters.
“Everyone’s grieving, everyone’s understanding and processing it in their own way.”
