Australia Bondi Beach shooting suspects identified as father and son, one of whom had been investigated
(CBS NEWS) – Sources from CBS say that two suspected gunmen accused of killing 15 people and injuring dozens during a Hanukkah celebration in Australia have been identified as a father and a son, authorities have said. The younger man was reportedly investigated years ago over suspected links to an ISIS cell in Sydney.
The 50-year-old father was shot and killed by police, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday that the 24-year-old son remained hospitalized in a coma.
“Based on his medical condition, it is likely that the person may face criminal charges,” New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said Sunday, without going into further details.
During an earlier news conference, Australian police said they were looking for a potential third suspect, but Lanyon later confirmed that was no longer the case. “I can say that we are not looking for a further offender,” he said.
The 24-year-old suspect was identified as Naveed Akram, according to U.S. intelligence officials briefed on the investigation. CBS News has also reviewed Akram’s New South Wales driver’s license. The name of the father has not been released, but authorities said Sunday they had identified him as a licensed gun owner.
The officials had told CBS News that Akram was a Pakistani national, but Australian officials later said he was Australian-born. Officials have not confirmed what country the father migrated to Australia from.
Lanyon said investigators recovered six of the suspect’s licensed firearms at the scene. He added that the older suspect had had a gun license for about 10 years. The suspect met the eligibility criteria for a recreational hunting license and “was a member of a gun club,” Lanyon said. Improvised explosive devices were also found in one of the suspects’ vehicles, police said.
“We will look at the motives behind this attack and I think it is important as part of the investigation,” Lanyon said.
Albanese confirmed that the younger suspect had been under investigation by the Australian Security Intelligence Agency (ASIO), the country’s primary spy agency, for about six months during 2019.
According to public broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corp., ASIO looked into the son’s possible ties to a cell of the ISIS terrorist organization in Sydney. Albanese didn’t go into detail, but said Monday that ASIO had been focused on individuals believed to be in that cell who were associated with the son, rather than the son himself.
“He was examined on the basis of being associated with others and the assessment was made that there was no indication of any ongoing threat or threat of him engaging in violence,” the prime minister said.
More than 1,000 people were gathered at Bondi Beach in Sydney on Sunday. Albanese said the gunmen were “deliberately targeting the Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah.”
The attack at the popular beach left at least 40 people injured, including two officers and three children, Australian officials said.
Also among the injured is 43-year-old fruit seller Ahmed al Ahmed, who had been shot after he confronted one of the gunmen and wrestled the weapon away, Agence France-Presse reported.
One video posted to social media shows al Ahmed jump out from behind a parked car along Campbell Parade, a main street that runs parallel to Bondi Beach, tackle one of the suspects who had just fired his gun, and wrestle the weapon away.
President Trump, during an event at the White House on Sunday, said al Ahmed’s actions “saved a lot of lives.”
