One of the men who allegedly opened fire during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach has been charged with 59 crimes, including murder and terrorism, police said Wednesday.
Fifteen people died in the attack that shook Australia and heightened fears of a rise in anti-Semitism and violent extremism.
Funerals for the Jewish victims of the attack began Wednesday, amid outrage over how the two shooters – one of whom was under investigation for links to extremists – had access to powerful firearms.
Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police on the spot, while his son Naveed Akram, 24, came out of coma on Tuesday (16) afternoon after he was also shot dead by police.
NSW Police said the surviving suspect was charged with 59 crimes, including 15 counts of murder, 40 counts of wounding with attempted murder, as well as one count of terrorism and other charges.
“Police will allege in court that the man engaged in behavior that caused death, serious injury and put lives in danger to promote a religious cause and sow fear in the community,” police said in a statement.
“Early indications suggest a terrorist attack inspired by ISIS, a listed terrorist organization in Australia.”
Naveed Akram, who remains in a Sydney hospital under heavy police guard, will appear by video conference in a local court on Monday morning.
The suspects, a father and son, had traveled to the southern Philippines, a region long plagued by Islamic militancy, weeks before the shootings that Australian police said appeared to be inspired by Islamic State.
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday evening at a Hanukkah event at the White House that he was thinking of the victims of the “horrific anti-Semitic terrorist attack.”
“We join in the mourning of all those killed and pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,” he said.
The head of Australia’s New South Wales state said he would convene Parliament next week to pass sweeping reforms to gun laws and protests, days after the country’s deadliest mass shooting in three decades.
Chris Minns, premier of the New South Wales state where the attack took place, told a news conference that Parliament would return on Dec. 22 to consider “urgent” reforms, including limiting the number of firearms allowed by a single person and making certain types of shotguns harder to access.
The state government will also consider reforms that would make it more difficult to organize large street protests after terrorist events, to avoid further tensions.
“We have a monumental task before us. It’s a huge responsibility to bring the community together. I think we need a summer of calm and unity, not division,” he said.
The funeral of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a Chabad Bondi synagogue attendant and father of five, was held Wednesday.
He was known for his work with the Sydney Jewish community through Chabad, a global organization that promotes Jewish identity and connections. Schlanger visited prisons and met with Jews living in Sydney’s public areas, Jewish leader Alex Ryvchin said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese faces criticism that his center-left government has not done enough to stop the spread of anti-Semitism in Australia during Israel’s two-year war with Gaza.
“We will work with the Jewish community, we want to eliminate and eradicate anti-Semitism from our society,” Albanese told reporters.
The government and intelligence services are also under pressure to explain why Sajid Akram was allowed to legally acquire the high-powered rifles and shotguns used in the attack.
Albanese said Ahmed al-Ahmed, 43, the man who confronted one of the gunmen to disarm his rifle and was shot and wounded, was scheduled to undergo surgery on Wednesday.
Al-Ahmed’s uncle, Mohammed al-Ahmed, in Syria, said his nephew left his hometown in Syria’s northwest Idlib province almost 20 years ago to seek work in Australia.
“We found out about him through social media. I called his father and he told me it was Ahmed. Ahmed is a hero, we are proud of him. Syria in general is proud of him,” the uncle told Reuters.
The family of Officer Jack Hibbert, 22, who was shot twice Sunday and had been on the force for only four months, said in a statement that he had lost vision in one eye and faced a “long and difficult recovery.”
“Faced with a violent and tragic incident, he responded with courage, instinct and selflessness, continuing to protect and help others while he was injured, until he was physically no longer able to do so.”
Twenty-three people remain hospitalized in various hospitals across Sydney.
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