Police investigating the Bondi terror attack have revealed that the alleged gunmen, father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram, showed signs of military training and travelled to the Philippines last month. New South Wales police commissioner Mal Lanyon confirmed the pair visited the Philippines in November, and authorities are probing the purpose of the trip.
The attack, which killed 15 people and left 25 others hospitalised, is believed to have been inspired by Islamic State, according to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Police also found improvised explosive devices and two homemade Islamic State flags in a car registered to Naveed at the scene of the shooting.
Naveed Akram, 24, was arrested at the scene and remains in hospital with critical injuries, while his 50-year-old father Sajid was shot dead by police. Lanyon corrected earlier reports that Sajid obtained a gun licence a decade ago, stating it was issued in 2023 after a previous application lapsed.
Authorities are now examining whether the Philippines trip, Sajid's gun licence and acquisition of six firearms, and Naveed's past links to possible Islamic extremism in 2019 should have been connected to prevent the attack. Naveed had been investigated by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (Asio) in 2019 for six months due to alleged associations with an Islamic State cell, but was deemed not a threat.
Indian police confirmed Sajid was originally from Hyderabad but had limited contact with his family. In 2019, Naveed was filmed participating in the Street Dawah Movement, a street preaching group, though the group has since distanced itself from him. He has also been linked to another Dawah movement led by hardline preacher Wisam Haddad, who denies any involvement.
