New Delhi,Sydney/ Dec,15: Two gunmen who killed at least 15 people at a Jewish celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in Australia were a father and son, police said on Monday. It was the deadliest shooting in Australia in almost three decades in a country with strict gun control laws.
One gunman, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, was fatally shot by police. The other shooter, his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram, was wounded and was being treated at a hospital, said Mal Lanyon, New South Wales police commissioner.The duo were likely of Pakistani origin, CBS News reported, citing US intelligence officials briefed on the investigation. A picture of Akram’s New South Wales driver’s licence is also going viral on social media, where he appears to be wearing a green shirt resembling a Pakistani cricket team jersey.The son is an Australian-born citizen, while the father arrived in 1998 on a student visa, which was transferred in 2001 to a partner visa and later resident return visas, Australia’s Home Minister Tony Burke said.The violence erupted at the end of a summer day when thousands had flocked to Bondi Beach, an icon of Australia’s cultural life. They included hundreds gathered for the Chanukah by the Sea event celebrating the start of the eight-day Hanukkah festival.Witnesses said the attack lasted about 10 minutes, sending hundreds of people scattering along the sand and into nearby streets. Police said around 1,000 people had attended the targeted Hanukkah event, which was held in a small park off the beach.
According to authorities, emergency services were called at about 6:45 p.m., responding to reports of shots being fired. Video by onlookers showed people in bathing suits running from the water as shots rang out. Separate footage showed two men in black shirts firing with long guns from a footbridge leading to the beach.Police have not said what weapons were involved in the attack, but video from the scene showed the men firing what appeared to be a bolt-action rifle and a shotgun.
One dramatic clip broadcast on Australian television showed a man appearing to tackle and disarm one gunman before pointing the man’s weapon at him, then setting the gun on the ground. New South Wales Premier Chris Minns called the man, identified by relatives to Australian media as fruit shop owner Ahmed al Ahmed, a “genuine hero”.
A fundraising page for the man had raised more than A$200,000 ($133,000) by Monday morning.Police said one gunman was known to security services, but Mal Lanyon, New South Wales police commissioner, said authorities did not indicate a planned attack.
Authorities raided the home of the alleged attackers in Bonnyrigg, a suburb around 36 km (22 miles) west of the Central Business District, where there was a heavy police presence on Monday, with a cordon wrapping around several neighbouring houses.
