Bondi gunmen threw bombs that didn’t go off, condemned ‘Zionists’ before attack – police

A statement from police, released after defendant Naveed Akram appeared in court, details how he and his father trained for the terror attack and their ‘justification’ for shooting

The father and son accused of killing 15 people in a terror attack targeting a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach last week trained with firearms leading up to the massacre, threw unexploded bombs at the scene and recorded a video beforehand condemning “Zionists.”

Those details emerged in a “statement of facts” released by a court in the Australian state of New South Wales on Monday. The statement lays out the timeline of the terrorists’ preparations leading up to the attack.

The court released the documents days after the gunman who survived the attack, Naveed Akram, 24, was transferred from a hospital to detention in a correctional facility. He also appeared in court via video from a Sydney hospital.

His father, Sajid, 50, was killed by police during the attack. Naveed Akram was charged with 15 counts of murder, in addition to terrorism and firearms charges, and faces life in prison if convicted.

The statement of facts contains screenshots from videos the pair recorded, including showing them firing long weapons in what appears to be a large grassy field, and describing their motivation for the December 14 massacre, the worst antisemitic attack against Diaspora Jews in decades.

According to local reports, the statement of facts says that the pair conducted “firearms training” in an area thought to be in New South Wales, outside of Sydney. Police said the suspects “meticulously planned” the attack for months.

“The accused and his father are seen throughout the video firing shotguns and moving in a tactical manner,” the statement said.

Before the attack, they also recorded what appears to be a video manifesto, found on Naveed Akram’s phone, in which they signal their affiliation with the Islamic State group and, per police, “recite their political and religious views and appear to summarize their justification for the Bondi terrorist attack.”

The video shows them wearing black T-shirts and sitting in front of an ISIS flag with their guns and visible rounds of ammunition.

In that video, the statement says, Naveed Akram is “recorded appearing to recite, in Arabic, a passage from the Quran.”

The document added, “Following the recitation, both the accused and [his father] speak in English and make a number of statements regarding their motivation for the ‘Bondi attack’ and condemning the acts of ‘Zionists.'”

The document said that, according to CCTV footage, two days before the attack, the pair went to Bondi Beach to scope out positions for the shooting, including by walking on the footbridge from which they would later fire on the Hanukkah event.

“Police allege that this is evidence of reconnaissance and planning of a terrorist act,” the court documents said.

On the day of the attack, according to the statement, the gunmen drove their car to the area of the beach and put ISIS flags in the front and rear windows of the car at “around 6:50 p.m.” The shooting began at about that time, at 6:47 p.m.

In addition to firing on the crowd, the terrorists had also brought four bombs to the scene.

“Investigators believe the three pipe bombs and tennis ball bomb were thrown towards the crowd of people in Archer Park,” the statement said. None detonated, but police described them as “viable” IEDs. Another explosive device was found in their car.

The police statement comes as investigations into the two gunmen are ongoing. Jewish leaders have called for an expansive inquiry into the attack.

Of particular interest is the gunmen’s nearly monthlong stay in the Philippines in November, in an area known as a hotspot for Islamist groups. They are said to have barely left their hotel room during their stay.

A senior Muslim cleric said that photos of the terrorists are being posted at 70 mosques in the city of Davao to encourage people to come forward with more information about them.

Sheikh Muhammad Yusop Pasigan of Davao told the Sydney Morning Herald that the pair were “no good – not good people.”

Also Monday, the New South Wales state government introduced draft laws to Parliament that Premier Chris Minns said would become the toughest in Australia.

The new restrictions would include making Australian citizenship a condition of qualifying for a firearms license. That would have excluded Sajid Akram, who was an Indian citizen with a permanent resident visa.

Sajid Akram legally owned six rifles and shotguns. A new legal limit for recreational shooters would be a maximum of four guns.

At Bondi, an impromptu memorial that grew near the Bondi Pavilion after the massacre as thousands of mourners brought flowers and heartfelt cards was removed Monday as the beachfront returned to more normal activity. Part of the memorial will be preserved by the Sydney Jewish Museum.

Victims’ funerals continued Monday with French national Dan Elkayam’s service held in the nearby suburb of Woollahra, at the heart of Sydney’s Jewish life. The 27-year-old moved from Paris to Sydney a year ago.

The health department had said before Akram was discharged that 13 patients injured in the Hanukkah attack remained in hospitals on Monday.