Bondi Beach Shooting Suspect Charged With Murder, Terrorism

SYDNEY (AP) — A suspected gunman in Sydney’s Bondi Beach massacre was charged with 59 crimes, including 15 murder charges, on Wednesday as hundreds of mourners gathered in Sydney to begin a funeral procession for the victims.

Two attackers murdered 15 people on Sunday Anti-Semitic mass shooting Targeting Jews celebrating Hanukkah Bondi BeachMore than 20 people are still receiving treatment in hospitals. All those killed by gunmen defined so far He was Jewish.

Suspected gunman Naveed Akram, 24, was charged on Wednesday after waking from a coma in a Sydney hospital where he had been since police shot him and his gunman in Bondi, police said. His father, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, died at the scene.

The charges include one count of murder and one count of committing an act of terrorism for each death.

Akram was also charged with 40 counts of harming injured persons with intent to murder and placing explosives near a building with intent to cause harm.

Police said the Akrams’ car at the scene contained improvised explosive devices.

The funerals began as a country reeling from the deadliest hate-filled massacre of modern times turned to probing questions about how this was possible, questions that have increased in volume since the attack. As investigations progress, Australia faces a social and political reckoning over antisemitism, gun control and whether police protection for Jews at events like Sunday’s is adequate for the threats they face.

But the first day was a painful one for families from Sydney’s close-knit Jewish community, who gathered one after another to bury their dead. The victims of the attack ranged in age from a 10-year-old girl to an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor.

The first to say goodbye was Eli Schlanger, 41, a husband and father of five who serves as assistant rabbi at Chabad-Lubavitch in Bondi and organized the Chanukah by the Sea event on the Sunday when the attack occurred. London-born Schlanger also served as a chaplain in prisons in New South Wales and a hospital in Sydney.

“My biggest regret after what happened — other than the obvious one — is that I could have told Eli more often how much we loved him, how much I loved him, how much we appreciated everything he did, and how proud we were of him,” said Schlanger’s father-in-law, Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, who sometimes spoke through tears.

“I hope he knows that. I’m sure he does,” Ulman said. “But I think this should be said more often.”

Outside the funeral, not far from the scene of the attack, the atmosphere was quiet and somber due to a heavy police presence. Jews are usually buried within 24 hours of their death, but funerals are delayed due to judicial investigations.

Dmitry Chlafma, one of the mourners, said Schlanger was his longtime rabbi as he left the service.

“You can tell how important it is to the community by the number of people here,” Chlafma said. “He was warm, happy, generous and one of a kind.”

Among those killed were husband and wife Boris and Sofia Gurman, in their 60s, who were fatally shot while trying to disarm one of the gunmen who got out of his car to launch the attack. Another Jewish man in his 60s, Reuven Morrison, was shot and killed as one of the attackers threw a brick at another, his daughter said.

Many children attended the Hanukkah event, which included face painting, treats and a petting zoo. The youngest person killed was 10-year-old Matilda, who asked those attending Tuesday night’s memorial service to remember her name.

“She’ll stay here,” said Matilda’s mother, who identified herself only as Valentyna, pressing her hand over her heart. “It just stays here and there.”

Australia’s federal police commissioner, Krissy Barrett, said on Wednesday that authorities believed the attack was “an Islamic State-inspired terrorist attack.”

Authorities said Naveed Akram came to the attention of the security agency in 2019 but provided few details about previous investigations. Authorities will now investigate what is known about these men.

This included examining the suspects’ trip to the Philippines in November. The Philippine Bureau of Immigration confirmed Tuesday that the two suspected attackers traveled to the country from Nov. 1 to Nov. 28 and gave Davao City as their final destination.

Muslim separatist militant groups, including Abu Sayyaf in the southern Philippines, once expressed support for ISIS and have in the past hosted small numbers of foreign militants from Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Philippine military and police officials said there was no recent sign of the presence of any foreign militants in the south of the country.

The young suspect was born in Australia. Indian police said on Tuesday that the elderly suspect was originally from the southern city of Hyderabad, migrated to Australia in 1998 and had an Indian passport.

Reports that the suspects were inspired by the Islamic State group have raised further questions about whether the Australian government is doing enough to prevent hate crimes, particularly against Jews. In Sydney and Melbourne, where 85% of Australia’s Jewish population lives, Wave of anti-Semitic attacks recorded last year.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese vowed on Wednesday the government would do whatever it takes to stamp out antisemitism, after Jewish leaders and survivors of Sunday’s attack blasted the government for ignoring warnings of violence.

Albanians and leaders of some Australian states, Tightening the country’s already strict gun laws These would be the most sweeping reforms since a gunman killed 35 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania, in 1996. it was rare.

Albanese announced plans to further restrict access to guns, in part because it was revealed that the elderly suspect had amassed six guns legally. Proposed measures include restricting gun ownership to Australian citizens and limiting the number of weapons a person can carry.

Meanwhile, Australians searching for ways to make sense of the horror decided on practical action. Queues for hours were reported at blood donation sites, and at dawn on Wednesday hundreds of swimmers formed a circle in the sand and observed a minute’s silence. They then ran to the sea.

Not far away, part of the beach remained behind police tape as the investigation into the massacre continued; Shoes and towels were still scattered on the sand as people fled.

Ulman said one of the events that will return to Bondi is the 31-year-old Hanukkah celebration that was targeted by gunmen. He added that this would go against the attackers’ desire to make people feel that living as a Jew is dangerous.

“Eli lived and breathed the idea that we could never just let them succeed, but that every time they tried something we would be bigger and stronger,” he said.

“We will show the world that the Jewish people are invincible.”

Graham-McLay reported from Wellington and McGuirk from Melbourne.