The shooting occurred during the Hanukkah celebration on December 14. Police investigations have identified the two suspects seen in CCTV footage as Sajid Akram and Naveed Akram, a father and son.
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Police have filed 59 charges against 24-year-old Naveed Akram, who was arrested for allegedly opening fire at a Jewish Hanukkah event on Sydney's Bondi Beach.
The New South Wales Police have registered 15 charges of murder against him. Similarly, 40 charges of grievous bodily harm with intent to murder have been registered. In addition, he has been charged with committing a terrorist act, firing a weapon, possessing explosives and publicly displaying the symbol of a terrorist organization.
The shooting took place on December 14 during the Hanukkah festival. The police investigation has shown that the two accused shooters seen in CCTV footage are Sajid Akram and Naveed Akram. They are father and son.
Of the two, Sajid, 50, was shot dead by police at the scene. Fifteen civilians were killed in the incident.
Father Sajid migrated to Australia from the Indian city of Hyderabad in 1998, according to the British media outlet BBC, citing a police officer in Telangana.
After completing his university studies, Sajid went to Australia for work and married a woman of European origin there, the officer said.
According to the police, he had visited India six times. The officer also said that he had no criminal record in India.
Son Navid was born in Australia. 'Perhaps because he is a radical, Sajid has not had much contact with his family in India recently,' the police officer said.
The victims ranged from elderly people to 10-year-old girls who had come to Australia from Europe in the 1990s after enduring the brutality of the Nazi regime during World War II. Police arrested his son Navid and took him to hospital. He is currently undergoing treatment.
Police said that his statement will be taken only after treatment. The court proceedings have been postponed until April. This incident is the biggest mass shooting in Australia since 1996.
On April 28, 1996, a gunman opened fire in Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia, killing 35 people and injuring 23 others. Australia has tightened gun laws since the incident.
Who grabbed the gun
Like many other Australians, Ahmed Al Ahmed had gone to Bondi Beach for a walk and a coffee. Two gunmen suddenly launched a bloody attack targeting Jews celebrating Hanukkah in a park near the beach.
Within moments, Ahmed Al Ahmed ducked between two parked cars and ran straight towards one of the gunmen. In a video that has been viewed millions of times around the world, he can be seen tackling one attacker, snatching a shotgun from his hand and turning it towards him.
The second attacker then opened fire on him at random, hitting him multiple times in the left arm. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has praised Al Ahmed for his bravery. He said Ahmed was a shining beacon of humanity.
Married and father of two Ahmed will now face a long journey of treatment and rehabilitation. Ahmed, 44, is of Syrian origin. His permanent home is the town of Nayrab in the Idlib region.
He served in the police and the Central Security Force in Syria before coming to Australia to study in 2006. Nayrab was devastated by the civil war that began in 2011. He then settled in Australia and started a business.
We will tighten gun laws: Prime Minister Albanese
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said that gun laws will be tightened further. Australia still has the strictest gun laws in the world.
Such laws were introduced after the Port Arthur shooting incident. The law banned the sale of semi-automatic rifles and pump-action shotguns and launched a national 'buyback' program.
More than 650,000 guns were surrendered to the government under the program, according to the National Museum of Australia.
But the number of guns has been increasing in recent years. According to a report released in January by the public policy research organization The Australia Institute, there are more than 4 million guns in Australia, which is 25 percent more than in 1996.
Research has shown that Sajid, the accused in the Bondi shooting, has owned six guns since 2015. This has raised questions about the effectiveness of law enforcement.
Prime Minister Albanese has said that the cabinet will discuss the plan to tighten weapons.
The government is discussing plans to renegotiate the National Firearms Agreement, speed up the implementation of a national gun registration system, use criminal intelligence information in the licensing process, set limits on the number and type of guns a person can own, ban gun licenses for non-citizens and impose stricter customs controls on the import of guns and related equipment.
