A horrific terrorist attack unfolded at Bondi Beach, Sydney, claiming the lives of 15 innocent people and injuring 22 others, including two police officers. The perpetrators, Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed Akram, 24, allegedly opened fire at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration, with police indicating the attack was “inspired” by Islamic State.

Naveed Akram's past came under scrutiny, revealing he was investigated by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) for six months starting in October 2019, following his involvement in street dawah (outreach) at age 17. Despite being associated with others, ASIO assessed no ongoing threat of violence. Naveed, a bricklayer by trade, later informed his boss of a fake wrist injury to request annual leave and entitlements paid out, seemingly to fund a trip. His father, Sajid, who arrived in Australia from India in 1998, obtained a firearms license in 2023 and acquired six firearms over two years, all while living with Naveed. These factors, alongside the pair's travel to the Philippines weeks before the attack, are now critical points of investigation.

Authorities in Manila confirmed that Naveed and Sajid traveled to the Philippines on November 1 for four weeks, listing Davao—a city near a known terrorist hotspot—as their destination. They returned little more than a fortnight before the attack. Naveed's social media profile on X, set up in August, was listed as being “based” in the Philippines, a detail often impacted by recent travel. Colleagues described Naveed as a “weird operator,” noting his close relationship with his father and a strengthened connection to his religion after his parents’ separation. The family resided in Bonnyrigg, where their home was raided by police hours after the attack, though Naveed's mother and other occupants were not accused of wrongdoing. Sajid had transferred his share of the Bonnyrigg property to his wife in February 2024. A faint outline of a Zastava Hunting Association membership card was reportedly found in Naveed's wallet, a club that later expressed dismay at the association, stating membership is open to anyone signing up online.

The Akrams allegedly spent 16 days after their return from the Philippines at a short-term rental property in Campsie, leaving on the day of the attack. They then made the 20km drive to Bondi Beach in a silver Hyundai Elantra, allegedly armed with four of Sajid’s registered guns, two homemade Islamic State flags, and improvised explosive devices. They opened fire from a footbridge, with Sajid moving closer to the event, killing 15 people aged between 10 and 87. Twenty-two others were hospitalized, including Constable Scott Dyson, who was shot in the shoulder and abdomen, and Probationary Constable Jack Hibbert, who suffered severe eye injuries while pulling members of the public to safety. Boris Tetleroyd was identified as one of the victims.

The attack saw acts of extraordinary bravery. Ahmed al-Ahmed, a 43-year-old Syrian-born grocer and father of two, courageously tackled Sajid Akram, disarming him despite being shot five times in the process. Al-Ahmed, who left Syria in 2006, had a background as a policeman in his home country, which his father believes influenced his actions. His heroism was widely praised by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, NSW Premier Chris Minns, and even former US President Donald Trump, leading to a GoFundMe campaign that raised over £1.47 million. Meanwhile, Detective Senior Constable Cesar Barraza, a Bondi-based detective, has been identified as the hero police officer who fatally shot Sajid Akram and wounded Naveed, firing accurately from approximately 40 meters away with a standard-issue Glock pistol, a shot hailed as the “shot of a lifetime.” Barraza, a 16-year veteran, was on duty and raced to the scene, taking cover before engaging the attackers.

Naveed Akram, who was in a coma for two days after being shot by police, regained consciousness and faces 59 charges, including 15 counts of murder, one count of committing a terrorist act, and 40 counts of wounding with intent to murder. NSW Police stated he “engaged in conduct that caused death, serious injury and endangered life to advance a religious cause and cause fear in the community.”

In the aftermath, a wave of bizarre conspiracy theories and misinformation, often reinforced by artificial intelligence-generated content, flooded social media. Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok falsely identified hero Ahmed al-Ahmed as a fictitious “Edward Crabtree” and circulated fabricated news. An AI-generated image depicted an injured victim as an actor with fake blood, misrepresenting human rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky. A Pakistani man, also named Naveed Akram, was wrongly accused as one of the gunmen, leading to a “nightmare” for him. False claims also emerged, alleging the real Naveed Akram was a former Israeli Defence Force soldier or Mossad agent, and that the Bondi shooting was a “false-flag” operation. Counter-terrorism police in the UK, including the British Transport Police, urged the public to report any suspicious activity, especially during the festive season, emphasizing the importance of public vigilance following the Bondi attack and other incidents.