Mon Dec 15 04:49:46 UTC 2025: Sydney Reels After Bondi Beach Terror Attack; Suspect’s Mother in Disbelief
Sydney, Australia – The city of Sydney is in mourning following a horrific terror attack at Bondi Beach during a Jewish festival on Sunday, leaving 15 dead, including a child. The attack occurred as approximately 1,000 people gathered to celebrate the beginning of Hanukkah.
Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police after he and his son, Naveed Akram, 24, allegedly opened fire on the crowd with long-barrelled guns for approximately 10 minutes. Naveed Akram is currently in police custody.
Verena, Sajid’s wife and Naveed’s mother, has expressed shock and disbelief. Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, she stated that Naveed had told her he was on a weekend fishing trip to Jervis Bay with his father.
“He rings me up [on Sunday] and said, Mum, I just went for a swim. I went scuba diving,” she recounted.
Despite images of Naveed with a firearm at the scene circulating widely, Verena insists her son is not capable of such violence. “He doesn’t have a firearm. He doesn’t even go out… he goes to work, he comes home, he goes to exercise, and that’s it,” she said, describing him as “a good boy.”
Verena revealed that Naveed, a former bricklayer, lost his job months ago when his company went bankrupt. He lived with his parents, and siblings in their western Sydney home. His father owned a fruit shop.
Authorities are still investigating the motive behind the attack. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has condemned the incident as an act of “pure evil, an act of antisemitism, an act of terrorism on our shores.”
First Piper 