SYDNEY: A man who allegedly opened fire on a Jewish Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach has been charged with 59 offences, including murder and terrorism, police said on Wednesday. The alleged father-and-son perpetrators opened fire on the celebration at Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach on Sunday, killing 15 in an attack that shook the nation and intensified fears of rising antisemitism and violent extremism.
Funerals of the Jewish victims of the attack began on Wednesday, amid anger over how the gunmen - one of whom was briefly investigated for links to extremists - were allowed access to powerful firearms.
Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police at the scene, while his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram emerged from a coma on Tuesday afternoon after also being shot by police.
New South Wales Police said on Wednesday that a man had been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder, 40 counts of wounding with attempt to murder, as well as a terror offence and other charges.
“Police will allege in court the man engaged in conduct that caused death, serious injury and endangered life to advance a religious cause and cause fear in the community,” it said in a statement.
“Early indications point to a terrorist attack inspired by ISIS, a listed terrorist organisation in Australia.”
A court filing on Wednesday named Naveed Akram, who remains in a Sydney hospital under heavy police guard, as the man charged.
He will appear via video link before a local court on Monday morning.
The father and son had travelled to the southern Philippines, a region long plagued by Islamist militancy, weeks before the shooting that Australian police said appeared to be inspired by Islamic State. US President Donald Trump told a Hanukkah event at the White House late on Tuesday that he was thinking of the victims of the “horrific and antisemitic terrorist attack”.
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