Max Mason Senior courts and crime reporter
Dec 15, 2025 – 11.35am
Airbnb and a fishing trip lie: The father and son behind Bondi horror
The father and son identified as the alleged terrorists who launched Sunday’s antisemitic attack at Bondi Beach had told family they were going away for the weekend.
The suspected gunmen Naveed Akram, 24, and his father, Sajid Akram, 50, lived in Bonnyrigg, in Sydney’s western suburbs.
Naveed Akram has been identified as one of the alleged gunmen.
Instead of leaving Sydney, they rented an Airbnb in Campsie in Sydney’s south-west. Police executed search warrants at both properties.
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said the 24-year-old was known to law enforcement, but it was “very limited knowledge”, and there was no indication before
Sunday’s massacre that an attack was being planned.
The 50-year-old attacker had had a gun licence for approximately 10 years and had six licensed firearms. Both men are believed to have been part of a hunting and gun club, although the number listed has been disconnected.
The elder man died at the scene on Sunday, while his son is in critical condition under police watch in hospital.
Police said on Monday morning that it was too early to confirm the duo’s motives for the attack
targeting Sydney’s Jewish community, which was celebrating the religious holiday of Hanukkah, on Sunday.
Lanyon would not comment on whether NSW Police had found a manifesto detailing the motives of the attackers.
Read more: Bondi terrorist attack
“I want to give our investigators the opportunity to investigate thoroughly without speculation. We heard a lot information was coming forward. I want to make sure it’s accurate … our investigation will be thorough,” he said.
On Sunday night, ASIO director-general Mike Burgess said the security agency is looking into the identities of the terrorists.
Naveed Akram was an unemployed bricklayer who lost his job two months ago when the company he was working for became insolvent,
The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Footage shows the moment one of the gunmen tells bystanders to move away as they fire at crowds from the pedestrian bridge that links Campbell Parade and Bondi Pavilion.
Akram’s mother told the
Herald her son said he was going on a fishing trip to Jervis Bay, on the NSW south coast.
“He rings me up [on Sunday] and said, Mum, I just went for a swim. I went scuba diving. We’re going … to eat now, and then this morning, and we’re going to stay home now because it’s very hot,” she said.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federa...r-and-son-behind-bondi-horror-20251215-p5nnp9
