A Jewish community security team warned NSW Police about one of the alleged Bondi gunmen years before the deadly terrorist attack. Community Security Group (CSG) identified Naveed Akram as a close associate of a street preaching group in Sydney's south-west.
'Please be aware of Salafi organisation "Bankstown Dawah" which maintains concerning membership and activity in Sydney,' an email to NSW Police's Terrorism Intelligence Unit read. 'Other closely associated individuals include Naveed AKRAM.'
The email, obtained by the Sydney Morning Herald, was sent in July 2019, six years before Akram, now 24, and his father Sajid Akram, 50, allegedly opened fire on a crowd celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach on December 14. Fifteen people, including a 10-year-old girl, lost their lives and dozens more were wounded.
The CSG email listed other associates of the group, now known as Street Dawah Movement, including several now-convicted Islamic State supporters. They included Radwan Dakkak, who had been arrested one week earlier in counter-terrorism raids alongside Isaac El Matari.
On the day of the arrests, the Dawah group shared a photo online of a smiling Akram alongside other members, describing him as 'our new brother'. El Matari is serving seven years in prison after planning an insurgency, attempting to recruit followers and acquire firearms, and even rehearsing speeches ahead of possible travel to Afghanistan, while Dakkak later pleaded guilty to associating with a terrorist organisation.
Street Dawah Movement distanced itself from Akram after the terrorist attack, adding that he was never a member and only a 'visitor' who had passed through in 2019. NSW Police were 'unable to comment' on the CSG email.
'The circumstances surrounding what happened at Bondi on Sunday 14 December 2025 are subject to a critical incident investigation, a criminal investigation, a coronial inquest and examination by the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion,' a spokesperson said. 'As with all criminal investigations, it is imperative that police comment and media coverage do not prejudice court proceedings.'
Australia's national spy agency ASIO began investigating Akram soon after the arrests of El Matari and Dakkak. But it cleared Akram and his father as threats a year later, finding they 'did not adhere to or intend to engage in violent extremism'.
CSG provides security services to schools, synagogues and public events in the Jewish community. NSW Premier Chris Minns suggested allowing CSG staff to be armed in the wake of the tragedy. But sources have told the Sydney Morning Herald that the idea will unlikely come to fruition.
Akram, 24, was charged with committing a terrorist act, 15 counts of murder, and 40 charges of attempted murder over his alleged role in the massacre. He was recently hit with a further 19 charges, including ten counts of shooting with intent to murder and six counts of discharging a firearm with intent to resist arrest. Akram remains behind bars at Goulburn's Supermax prison. He has not yet been required to enter pleas to any of the charges.
