Australian authorities say the suspects in the Bondi Beach shooting filmed a video manifesto that was littered with antisemitism and Islamic State leanings.
Investigators say that the father-son pair accused of carrying out the attack, 50-year-old Sajid Akram and 24-year-old Naveed Akram, may have been planning it for several months. Only the son survived the attack, and he now faces charges of murder and terrorism.
Police referenced a video found on the son’s phone that displayed the pair’s “political and religious views and appear to summarise their justification for the Bondi terrorist attack.”
The men are seen in the video “condemning the acts of Zionists” while they also “adhere to a religiously motivated ideology linked to Islamic State,” police said.
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“There is evidence that the Accused and his father meticulously planned this terrorist attack for many months,” police allege.
Some of the footage, shot in October, shows the pair firing shotguns in the woods and “moving in a tactical manner.”
The two hurled four improvised explosive devices toward a crowd but the devices failed to detonate, authorities said.
The attack has placed heightened scrutiny on rising antisemitism in Australia and what Jewish leaders say was the government’s refusal to act against it.
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Australian Prime Minister Anthony AlbaneseAnthony Albanese was met with boos while attending a vigil honoring the victims of the Bondi Beach shooting on Sunday.
An estimated 10,000 mourners, including Albanese and various Australian politicians and members of the Jewish community, gathered on Bondi Beach to commemorate the victims. David Ossip, who serves as president of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, remarked on Albanese’s presence to the crowd and received a chorus of boos.
Meanwhile, the crowd cheered at the mention of opposition leader Sussan Ley. Ley has said that a coalition government under her leadership would reverse a decision by Albanese’s government to recognize a Palestinian state.
The Dec. 14 attack left 15 people dead and dozens more hospitalized. The father was killed in the attack, while the son was critically injured. He woke from a coma last week and is now facing charges.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
