Police allege that the gunmen behind last week’s deadly attack at a Jewish festival in Bondi Beach threw multiple homemade explosive devices at the outset of the assault and had rehearsed the attack weeks earlier.
According to newly released court documents, the attackers launched four undetonated explosives including a so-called “tennis ball bomb” as they approached the footbridge near the Hanukkah celebration on December 14. The devices failed to explode but were later assessed by authorities as viable.
Naveed Akram, 24, has been charged with dozens of offences, including 15 counts of murder. He was shot by police during the attack, treated in hospital, and transferred to prison on Monday. A second alleged gunman, identified as his father, Sajid Akram, was shot dead at the scene.
Police allege the pair meticulously planned the attack over several months and were motivated by violent extremist ideology linked to the Islamic State group. Investigators say videos recovered from Naveed Akram’s phone show the two recording a manifesto in October while seated in front of an Islamic State flag, detailing their motivations and condemning what they described as the actions of “Zionists.”
Another video allegedly shows the pair conducting firearms training in what police believe was rural New South Wales. In the footage, the two are seen firing shotguns and moving tactically, according to police statements filed in court.
CCTV footage obtained by investigators also allegedly places the pair at Bondi Beach two days before the attack, carrying out reconnaissance. Police say the footage shows them walking along the same footbridge from which they later opened fire on members of the public.
Additional CCTV from rented accommodation in the Sydney suburb of Campsie allegedly captured the men leaving hours before the attack carrying long, bulky items wrapped in blankets. Police say those items included three firearms, homemade improvised explosive devices, and two Islamic State flags.
Investigators allege the pair drove to Bondi, placed the flags inside their vehicle’s front and rear windows, and then removed the weapons and explosives before walking toward the footbridge. As they approached, three pipe bombs and the tennis ball bomb were allegedly thrown but failed to detonate. A fifth explosive device was later found inside their vehicle.
A temporary suppression order protecting the identities of survivors was lifted on Monday following an application by media organisations, though most survivor names remain redacted.
Naveed Akram did not appear at his court hearing on Monday due to injuries sustained during the attack, police said.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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