By Comfort Asemota
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday apologised to the country’s Jewish community following a mass shooting that targeted a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing 15 people.
“As Prime Minister, I feel the weight of responsibility for an atrocity that happened while I’m Prime Minister, and I’m sorry for what the Jewish community and our nation as a whole have experienced,” Albanese said.
He pledged that the government would work daily to protect Jewish Australians and uphold their fundamental rights “to be proud of who they are, to practise their faith, to educate their children and to engage in Australian society in the fullest way possible.”
A father and son are accused of opening fire on a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach on December 14, killing 15 people and wounding dozens more in one of the deadliest mass shootings in Australian history.
Police said they received the first reports of gunfire at about 6:47 p.m. local time.
The suspects, Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed Akram, 24, allegedly fired long-barrelled firearms into crowds gathered for the family-oriented Hanukkah celebration, which had attracted about 1,000 people.
According to court documents released on Monday, police allege the pair meticulously planned the attack over several months, including undergoing firearms training believed to have taken place in rural parts of New South Wales.
Investigators said the suspects also conducted a reconnaissance visit to Bondi Beach days before the attack. Surveillance footage reportedly shows them walking along a footbridge from which the shooting was later carried out.
Authorities said the suspects recorded a video outlining their motivations for the attack and denouncing Zionists.
Police allege the pair rented a room in a shared house days before the shooting. On the morning of the attack, they were captured on camera loading long, bulky items wrapped in blankets into a vehicle. The items allegedly included firearms, homemade explosive devices, and flags linked to a banned extremist organisation.
Among the victims were a 10-year-old girl, a Holocaust survivor, and a married couple who were shot while attempting to stop the attackers.
Funerals have been held for most of the victims, including 10-year-old Matilda; 87-year-old Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman; and Bondi residents Boris and Sofia Gurman.
Sajid Akram was shot dead by police at the scene. His son, Naveed Akram, was wounded and taken to hospital under police guard before being transferred to prison.
Naveed Akram, an Australian citizen, has been charged with terrorism offences, 15 counts of murder, multiple counts of grievous bodily harm, and displaying symbols of a prohibited terrorist organisation. He remains in custody pending his next court appearance.
Investigators also revealed that the suspects had travelled overseas weeks before the attack. Australia’s domestic intelligence agency previously reviewed Naveed Akram in 2019 over concerns of possible radicalisation but determined at the time that he did not pose a threat.
