Bondi Beach suspect Naveed Akram appears in court for first time after Hanukkah attack
A man accused of killing 15 people in the Bondi Beach Hanukkah terror attack in December appeared in court for the first time today.
Naveed Akram, 24, is accused of 15 counts of murder and one count of committing a terrorist act after dozens of others were injured at Sydney’s Archer Park on December 14.
His father, Sajid, 50, was shot dead by police at the scene.
Akram appeared via video link during a brief hearing at Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney on Monday, where a magistrate extended suppression orders in the case.
The orders, made late last year, relate to details of several victims and survivors who have opted not to be publicly identified.
Police allege Akram and his father carried out Australia’s worst mass shooting since 1996, targeting the Jewish festival of lights.
Among the victims were a ten-year-old girl, Matilda, Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, and British-born rabbi Eli Schlanger.
Two police officers were also injured when two assailants opened fire at the festivalgoers on the sunny evening.
According to police, the father and son parked their vehicle near a footbridge overlooking Archer Park at Bondi at about 6.50pm on December 14.
The police say a ‘tennis ball bomb’ and three pipe bombs were then thrown into the crowd before the pair opened fire.
None of the bombs detonated, but they were deemed viable during preliminary police analysis.
Brave bystanders have been hailed as heroes after risking their lives trying to stop the attackers.
In December, court documents made public police allegations that Sajid and Naveed Akram visited the area for ‘planning’ in the days before the attack.
Police have further accused the pair of conducting firearms training in the Australian countryside.
Akram will return to court in April.
Ahmed al Ahmed, 43, was injured when he disarmed one of the attackers and pointed the weapon back at the gunman, forcing him to retreat before Mr al Ahmed was shot by the second assailant.
A second bystander, Reuven Morrison, then stepped in and threw a brick at the gunman, while Mr al Ahmed, who had not fired the weapon, rested it against a nearby tree.
Mr Morrison’s daughter said her dad was ‘shot dead for being Jewish at a Hanukkah event on Bondi Beach while protecting lives, while jumping up, putting his own life at risk to save his fellow Jewish community members.’
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