Bondi Beach Shooting Suspect Charged with 15 Counts of Murder After Terror Attack at Hanukkah Event

Australian authorities have charged a 24-year-old man in connection with the mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney’s Bondi Beach over the weekend, an attack that left 15 people dead and multiple others injured.

Naveed Akram was identified early in the investigation as a suspect, according to local media cited by the BBC. A spokesperson for the New South Wales (NSW) Police Force confirmed via email that Akram is the man who has now been charged.

Police have alleged a second gunman was Akram’s father, Sajid Akram, 50, who was shot by officers and died at the scene, the BBC reported.

In a news release issued Wednesday, Dec. 17, NSW Police said the NSW Joint Counter Terrorism Team had formally charged “a 24-year-old man alleged to be one of two gunmen responsible for the Bondi Beach mass shooting that claimed the lives of 15 people.”

The shooting took place at around 6:40 p.m. local time on Sunday, Dec. 14. Authorities said 41 people — including four children — were taken to hospital.

NSW Police said the 24-year-old, described as “a 24-year-old Bonnyrigg man,” faces 59 charges, including committing a terrorist act, 15 counts of murder, and 40 counts of causing wounding/grievous bodily harm with intent to murder.

Police also said two officers were shot during the attack.

“Multiple officers exchanged fire with the gunmen, and two officers – a constable and probationary constable – suffered gunshot wounds,” the release stated.

According to police, the older suspect — “a 50-year-old man” — was killed at the scene, while the 24-year-old “suffered critical injuries and was taken to hospital under police guard.”

Authorities said 20 patients were still receiving care across multiple Sydney hospitals. They added that the victims who died were still being formally identified, though police believe they ranged in age from 10 to 87.

Police said the injured constable is in critical but stable condition, while the probationary constable is stable.

The NSW Police Commissioner, Mal Lanyon APM, has “declared the incident terror related,” according to the release.

Australian officials have characterized the attack as antisemitic. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also condemned the shooting, calling it “an act of pure evil, an act of terror and an act of antisemitism,” per CNN.

The victims included 10-year-old Matilda Poltavchenko; Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, who recently became a father; and married couple Boris Gurman, 69, and Sofia Gurman, 61.

“We were so targeted in that little space, we were like sitting ducks,” Pearl, who attended the celebration but declined to share her last name, told The New York Times.

The shooting has renewed calls from Australian leaders for stricter gun laws, with The New York Times reporting it is the country’s deadliest mass shooting in three decades.

In the aftermath, Albanese and other officials have also urged Australians to confront rising antisemitism.

“It’s not random,” Jillian Segal, Australia’s special envoy on antisemitism, said, per The New York Times. “It is an attack on the Jews of Australia. It’s an attack on Australia as well.”