Father and son suspected in deadly terror attack on Jewish gathering in Sydney

Australian police say a man and his son are the main suspects in a deadly attack on a Jewish gathering at Bondi Beach in Sydney. The attack occurred on Sunday, December 14, 2025, when the two men opened fire on people who had gathered to celebrate Hanukkah, a major Jewish holiday. At least 16 people were killed and many others were injured. Queensland State Police said the incident is being treated as a terrorist attack. The suspects have been identified as Sajid Akram and his son, Naveed Akram. New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said Sajid Akram died at the scene, while his son

Australian police say a man and his son are the main suspects in a deadly attack on a Jewish gathering at Bondi Beach in Sydney. The attack occurred on Sunday, December 14, 2025, when the two men opened fire on people who had gathered to celebrate Hanukkah, a major Jewish holiday. At least 16 people were killed and many others were injured. Queensland State Police said the incident is being treated as a terrorist attack. The suspects have been identified as Sajid Akram and his son, Naveed Akram. New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said Sajid Akram died at the scene, while his son remains in hospital in critical condition. He also confirmed that Sajid Akram legally owned six firearms. Commissioner Lanyon said security agencies had limited prior information about the two suspects. Australian broadcaster ABC reported that counterterrorism authorities believe the suspects were supporters of the Islamic State group (IS), also known as ISIS. The report said an Islamic State flag was found inside their vehicle. According to ABC, Australia’s domestic intelligence agency, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), monitored Naveed Akram about six years ago because of his links to Isaac El Matari, an Islamic State supporter who was arrested in 2019 for planning a terrorist attack and later jailed. ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess confirmed that one of the suspects was known to the agency but was not considered to pose an immediate threat at the time. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese strongly condemned the attack, describing it as “a vile act of antisemitic hatred and terrorism.” “An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on all Australians,” Albanese said. Israeli leaders and Jewish advocacy groups have previously accused Australia of unfairly portraying Israel in relation to the war in Gaza and of failing to take strong enough action against antisemitism and anti-Jewish discrimination.