Bondi Beach shooting accused faces 19 more charges

CANBERRA: A man accused of killing 15 people in what authorities have described as an anti-Semitic mass shooting at Australia’s Bondi Beach is now facing 19 additional charges, according to court records released on Wednesday.

Naveed Akram, 24, is accused of opening fire in December as families gathered at Bondi Beach for a Hanukkah celebration. He had already been charged with a series of grave offences, including 15 counts of murder and committing an act of terrorism.

The newly released court records show that Akram now also faces multiple further allegations, including shooting with intent to murder, wounding with intent to murder, and discharging a firearm with intent to resist arrest.

Akram is being held in a high-security prison and has not yet indicated how he intends to plead to the charges.

His father, Sajid Akram, 50, who police have identified as an alleged co-conspirator, was shot dead by police during the attack.

Public inquiry begins hearings

The fresh charges were made public after a broad inquiry began public hearings into what has been described as Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in 30 years.

In opening remarks earlier this week, inquiry chief Virginia Bell said the attack had unfolded amid a wider rise in anti-Semitism.

“The sharp spike of anti-Semitism that we have witnessed in Australia has been mirrored in other Western countries and seems clearly linked to events in the Middle East,” inquiry chief Virginia Bell said. “It’s important that people understand how quickly those events can prompt ugly displays of hostility towards Jewish Australians simply because they are Jews.”

The shooting prompted a broader national debate in Australia over anti-Semitism and drew anger over what many saw as a failure to protect Jewish Australians from violence.

Gun law changes and prior warnings

Following the shootings, Australia announced a package of gun law changes, including a nationwide gun buyback programme. However, the scheme has since stalled as the federal government has struggled to secure the support of states and territories.

Australia’s intelligence agency had flagged Naveed Akram in 2019, but he later fell off its radar after the agency concluded that he did not pose an imminent threat.

Police documents released after the attack said Akram and his father had undertaken “ firearms training ” in what investigators believed was the New South Wales countryside before the shooting.

Those documents said the two men had “meticulously planned” the attack over several months. Police also released images that they said showed the pair firing shotguns and moving in what was described as a “tactical manner”.

Police further said the pair recorded a video in October in which they railed against “Zionists” while seated in front of an Islamic State flag and set out their motivations for the attack.