The two shooters who opened fire during the celebration of a Jewish holiday in Sydney, Australia, were motivated by “Islamic State ideology,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday (16/12).
The attack, which occurred on Sunday morning (14/12), left 16 dead and 40 injured during the celebration of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah on Bondi Beach in Sydney. The two shooters are father and son. One of them was killed and the other was arrested by the police.
The shooters were identified as Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24. The father immigrated to Australia in 1998 and the son was born in the country. Authorities have not revealed Sajid’s country of origin.
Police say Naveed had been under investigation by the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) since October 2019 on suspicion of links to an Islamic State cell. However, the link has not been confirmed and that is why the man had not been arrested until then.
Sajid died at the crime scene, while Naveed was arrested and taken to hospital with serious injuries.
The shooter was disarmed by a pedestrian
Images posted on social media show one of the armed shooters on the beach being stopped by a pedestrian. Watch the video:
In the footage, one of the shooters can be seen holding a rifle and firing shots. Then a man in a white coat grabs him and takes the gun. After disarming the shooter, the man points the gun at him.
The man soon leaves the gun leaning against a tree, while the shooter begins to walk away. At one point in the video, another pedestrian appears and throws a rock at the suspect, who runs away.
The footage also shows the second suspect shooting from a bridge.
The man who disarmed the shooter – and became a national hero – is a 43-year-old Muslim who sells fruit in the area and goes by the name Ahmed al Ahmed.
During this heroic act, Ahmed was hit by two gunshots. He underwent surgery and remains admitted to a Sydney hospital, but his condition is stable. The Australian hero’s family has already received more than 4 million reais in donations since the attack.
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