Bondi Beach latest: Evidence suggests mass shooting was ‘inspired’ by ISIS, Australia PM says

(LONDON) — The alleged father and son gunmen who killed 15 people and wounded more than 40 in a mass shooting at Australia’s Bondi Beach traveled to the Philippines in the weeks leading up to the attack and may have been inspired by the ISIS terrorist organization, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

Investigators are probing the months leading up to Sunday’s shooting, when the suspected gunmen — Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24 — fired at people attending a Hanukkah event. Australian officials have described the shooting as an anti-semitic terrorist attack.

“It would appear that there is evidence that this was inspired by a terrorist organization, by ISIS,” Albanese told reporters at a Tuesday press conference.

Sajid Akram and Naveed Akram allegedly stood on an overpass bridge near the event and shouted “Allahu Akbar” as they carried out the massacre, according to a briefing distributed to U.S. law enforcement and reviewed by ABC News. The father was shot and killed by police and the son was critically hurt and hospitalized, officials said.

New South Wales Police Force Commissioner Mal Lanyon said a car registered to Naveed Akram contained IEDs and ISIS flags. 

“We continue to work through the motive of this tragedy and will continue to do so,” Lanyon said. 

Law enforcement said they are also investigating a trip taken by the alleged shooters to the Philippines in November.

“The reasons why they went to the Philippines and the purpose of that and where they went when they were there is under investigation at the moment,” Lanyon said.

Sajid Akram, who was born into a Muslim family in India, immigrated in 1998 to Australia, where he got married and had a son and a daughter, Indian authorities told ABC News. Naveed Akram is an Australian citizen, offiicals said.

Authorities noted that Sajid Akram maintained limited contact with his family in Hyderabad, Indiana, since the 1990s, visiting India on six occasions, primarily for family-related matters. Local police said there was “no adverse record” against Sajid Akram during his time in India before he moved.

Australia is now grieving the 15 victims killed, including a 10-year-old girl named Matilda and an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor.

Among the injured is a bystander, Ahmad Al Ahmad, who was seen on video jumping in and wrestling a gun away from one of the attackers, according to police.

Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales, is pushing back on criticism of the police response time.

Responding officers “acted with bravery and integrity. They didn’t take a backward step,” Minns said during a Tuesday press conference.

“They engaged the gunmen on the footbridge with handguns,” Minns said. “The offenders had long-range rifles and New South Wales police officers were responsible for killing one of them and shooting the other one and as a result saving many, many people’s lives.”

“Now there are two officers in critical care in New South Wales hospitals at the moment. They weren’t shot in the back as they were running away, they were shot in the front,” Minns said.

ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Somayeh Malekian, Helena Skinner and Dada Jovanovic contributed to this report.

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