Bondi Beach terrorists ‘acted alone’ in attack on Hanukkah event — Australian police
Top cop in Australia says no evidence found showing father and son ‘were part of a broader terrorist cell, or were directed by others’ to perpetrate ISIS-inspired massacre
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A father and son who carried out a mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach “acted alone” and were not part of a wider terrorist cell, Australian police said on Tuesday.
Sajid Akram and his son Naveed killed 15 people in an Islamic State-inspired attack targeting a Jewish festival on December 14.
The pair travelled to the southern Philippines in the weeks before shooting, fueling suspicions they may have been linked to extremists in a region with a history of Islamist insurgencies.
Australian Federal Police commissioner Krissy Barrett said that so far, this did not appear to be the case.
“These individuals are alleged to have acted alone,” she told reporters. “There is no evidence to suggest these alleged offenders were part of a broader terrorist cell, or were directed by others to carry out the attack.”
Barrett said police would continue to probe why the pair traveled to the city of Davao, where CCTV footage showed they barely left their budget hotel.
“I want to be clear. I am not suggesting they were there for tourism,” she said.
Police believe the duo “meticulously planned” the attack for months, and have released pictures showing them training with shotguns in the Australian countryside.
They also recorded a video in October railing against “Zionists” while sitting in front of a flag of the ISIS jihadist group, police have said.
Sajid Akram, 50, was shot and killed by police during the attack. An Indian national, he entered Australia on a visa in 1998.
His 24-year-old son Naveed, an Australian-born citizen, remains in custody, charged with 15 murders and a litany of other serious offenses.
‘An opportunity to thumb our nose at the terrorists’
New Year’s Eve parties across Sydney will pause at 11 p.m. local time on Wednesday for a minute of silence in memory of the victims.
Crowds will be watched over by squads of police carrying high-powered firearms, New South Wales State Premier Chris Minns said on Tuesday.
The first police responders to the Bondi attack were armed with Glock pistols that lacked the lethal range of the Akrams’ rifles and shotguns. Two police officers were among the wounded.
“That is a clear and deliberate message from the police that safety is the number one priority,” Minns told reporters. “Given we’ve just had the worst terrorism event in Australia’s history inside the last month, it would be self-evidently the case that things need to change and the security needs to change.”
“I understand that there’ll be some people that oppose this or regard it as the militarization of the police. My sense is far more families would fully support that kind of police operation because they will feel far safer in that environment,” Minns added.
More than 1 million revelers crowd the waterfront each year to see a world-famous fireworks display centered on the Sydney Harbor Bridge.
Minns said he was concerned that any reduction in crowd numbers would be interpreted by extremists as a victory.
“It’s an opportunity to thumb our nose at the terrorists and their ideology that really would have us living in a ball and not celebrating this beautiful city. So this is an opportunity to live your life and show defiance to that kind of ideology,” Minns said.
Local government authorities had planned to project images of a dove with the word “peace,” but that was changed after consultation with Jewish representatives.
“I continue to listen to the community to ensure the acknowledgement of the horrific attack at Bondi Beach during New Year’s Eve is appropriate,” Moore said in statement.
The Times of Israel Community.