Australia still in shock days after two attackers They carried out a terrorist attack on Bondi beachone of the most famous in Sydney and a usual place for surfers, opposite a festive event of the Jewish community. Fifteen people died and more than forty were injured in what became the nation’s most serious mass shooting in the past three decades.
Compared to the images of people running, this Monday the scenes were completely different with flowers, candles and messages of mourning in tribute to all the victims. The Australian authorities are now trying to investigate all the circumstances and especially the motivation of the two attackers. The events also reignited the debate in the country on gun ownership and the Australian Prime Minister, Antoine Albanais, announced that it would tighten permits.
Father and son, the perpetrators of the attack
This Monday, Australian authorities confirmed that the two attackers are a 50-year-old father, also killed by the police, and his 24-year-old son, injured and still hospitalized in police custody. “We are satisfied that two offenders were involved in the incident.”“, one has died and the second is in critical condition,” the police chief of the Australian state of New South Wales detailed this Monday.
Australian public broadcaster ABC revealed that the father matches the identity of Sajid Akram and the son’s name is Naveed Akram. After the attack, authorities carried out searches of two houses, one in Bonnyrigg and the other in Campsie, both suburbs of Sydney. The first of these was the place where the attackers initially lived. The second was the place where they resided at the time of the incident and where several weapons were also found.
The son was the subject of an investigation in 2019
After learning his identity, Australian Home Affairs Minister Anthony Burke said the 24-year-old attacker had appeared on the radar of security services in 2019, although he indicated that at that time “there was no indication of any threat”. “He was examined based on his associations with others and it was felt that there was no indication of any ongoing threat or threat that he would engage in violence,” he explained.
Furthermore, the minister himself reported that the father arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa which he then followed with other visas. He also had a firearms license and had six to his name.. According to some media, he is of Pakistani origin, but no official confirmation has been provided by the authorities. His son, for his part, had Australian nationality after being born in 2001 in the country itself.
“The father arrived in 1998 on a student visa, in 2001 he obtained a partner visa and, since then, after every trip abroadhave had returning resident visaswhich happened three times,” said the interior minister, who avoided specifying whether the father was from Pakistan.
Possible link to Islamic State
After the attack, authorities confirmed that the attack targeted the “Australian Jewish community” and which was due to anti-Semitic motivation. “This attack was aimed at hitting the Jewish community in Sydney on the first day of Hanukkah. What was supposed to be a night of peace and celebration was destroyed by a despicable and horrific attack,” the New South Wales government leader said.
According to the Prime Minister, it appears that the father and son acted alone and were not part of a larger cell, although they were “clearly” motivated by an “extremist ideology”. Despite this, ABC assured that authorities were investigating the son’s connection. with an Islamic State (IS) terrorist cell based in Sydney. According to this channel, both would have pledged allegiance to this organization. The television also highlighted that two IS flags had been found in their car.
Debate over gun ownership
The events provoked a wave of reactions regarding gun ownership permits in the country. The Prime Minister indeed confirmed that he was considering “toughening” the laws after the attack. “The Government is ready to take all necessary measures, including the need to strengthen gun laws”, Albanese said on Monday.
Among the possible measures they are working on, he said it was to establish a “limit on the number of weapons” per person and the “review of licenses” since, as the president clarified, people’s situations “change.” “People can become radicalized over time and licenses cannot be perpetual,” he added.
First deadly attack on Jews in Australia
This Sunday thus became the first deadly attack against the Jewish community to occur in Australia. Bondi is, in fact, one of the districts of Sydney where one of the largest Jewish communities in the country is concentrated with a strong presence of synagogues, schools, businesses and community organizations. Australian authorities have warned that since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, attacks against Jews, who represent only 0.4% of the country’s population, have increased.
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