Annie, center, and Arieh, right, mourn during the funeral of their son Dan Elkayam, a young French Jewish man who was killed in the mass shooting that targeted a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach in Australia.
| Photo Credit: AP

A man accused of shooting dead 15 people at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in an antisemitic attack faced a lengthy delay in getting a gun license because of a bureaucratic mishap, not because he raised suspicions, a state government leader said on Tuesday (December 23, 2025).

Sajid Akram, who was killed by police during the attack, and his 24-year-old son, Naveed Akram, are accused of assailing hundreds of Jews celebrating Hanukkah on December 14, in Australia’s worst mass shooting since 1996.

Questions have been raised about how the 50-year-old father came to legally own six rifles and shotguns.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns on Tuesday (December 23, 2025) confirmed that the father applied for a state license to own firearms in 2000, three years before it was granted. The process typically takes six to 10 weeks.

“The latest information that we have is that there was a real mess in relation to the bureaucracy when it comes to gun licenses and the delays related to that — not a specific threat” posed by the father, Mr. Minns told reporters.

Reporters asked Mr. Minns on Monday (December 22, 2025) why the father was allowed to own guns when he shared his Sydney home with Naveed Akram, who had been investigated in 2019 by the spy agency Australian Security Intelligence Organisation over his extremist links.

“I don’t know. I’d give anything to go back a week, a month, two years, to ensure that didn’t happen. But we need to make sure that we take steps so that it never happens again,” Mr. Minns said.

A wide-ranging and powerful form of public investigation known as a Royal Commission will examine the circumstances surrounding the massacre and the surge of antisemitism in Australia since the war between Israel and Hamas began in 2023.

New South Wales Parliament was asked this week to pass laws that Mr. Minns said would provide the state with Australia’s toughest gun laws.

Experts say the video of the attack shows the gunmen apparently using guns with straight-pull mechanisms, which enable more rapid fire than a comparable bolt-action mechanism.

Straight-pull guns would not be available to recreational shooters such as Sajid Akram under the proposed new laws.

The new restrictions would include making Australian citizenship a condition of qualifying for a gun license. That would have excluded Sajid Akram, who was an Indian citizen with a permanent resident visa.

A government decision to refuse a gun license, for reasons including spy agencies’ suspicions, could no longer be appealed under the proposed reforms.

Recreational shooters would be allowed to own a maximum of four guns. Farmers and sports shooters would be allowed up to 10. There are currently no limits in New South Wales. One individual currently has 298 guns registered in his name.

Farmers’ groups have complained that 10 guns won’t be enough for some. The National Party, which represents rural voters, opposed the proposed laws. “The NSW Nationals Parliamentary team will not be supporting the Bill that uses gun reforms as a political tool rather than addressing the real issue of antisemitism,” a party statement said.

Police allege in court documents that the Akrams adhered to a “religiously motivated ideology linked to Islamic State”. Police shot Naveed Akram in the abdomen during the massacre. He was in Sydney’s Long Bay Correctional Complex on Tuesday (December 23, 2025) after being transferred from a hospital on Monday (December 22, 2025).

He was charged last week with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder, 40 counts of causing harm with intent to murder in relation to the wounded survivors and one count of committing a terrorist act.

Victims’ funerals continued on Tuesday (December 23, 2025). A service for Marika Pogany, 82, was held at a Catholic church in Sydney. She was Christian, but her mother was Jewish, and she was close to Sydney’s Jewish community.

The Health Department said 12 people wounded in the attack remained in hospitals on Tuesday (December 23, 2025), including four in critical condition.

A gunman armed with semiautomatic rifles killed 35 people at Port Arthur in Tasmania in 1996, leading Australia to make major national gun reforms that drastically reduced the number of rapid-fire weapons in the community.

Published – December 23, 2025 02:40 pm IST

A police vehicle passes by a budget hotel in downtown Davao City, southern Philippines on December 17, as they assist investigations on where Bondi beach suspects reportedly stayed while in the country in November. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks during an interfaith memorial service for the victims of the shooting at a Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach, at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, Australia, December 17, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Belongings left behind by people are gathered at the beach near the scene of a shooting on a Jewish holiday celebration at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Australia, December 15, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Police charged alleged Bondi killer Naveed Akram with terrorism, 15 counts of murder and a litany of other crimes on Wednesday (December 17, 2025) as grief-stricken mourners buried the first of 15 people slain in the attack.

Sajid Akram and his son Naveed are accused of opening fire on a Jewish festival at the famed surf beach on Sunday evening, killing 15 people in a shooting spree inspired by the Islamic State group.

Naveed was charged with 15 counts of murder on Wednesday (December 17, 2025) after waking from a coma, as well as committing a “terrorist act” and planting a bomb with intent to harm.

“Police will allege in court the man engaged in conduct that caused death, serious injury and endangered life to advance a religious cause and cause fear in the community,” New South Wales state police said in a statement.

“Early indications point to a terrorist attack inspired by ISIS, a listed terrorist organization in Australia.”

Father Sajid, 50, was killed at the scene in a shootout with police.

Naveed, 24, was also shot and remained in hospital under police guard.

Authorities said the attack was designed to sow panic among the nation’s Jews.

Australian police are investigating whether the pair met with Islamist extremists during a visit to the Philippines weeks before the shooting.

The Philippines said on Wednesday there was no evidence that the country was being used for “terrorist training”.

Outpouring of grief

Mourners collapsed in grief as they held the first funerals for those slain in the attack.

Rabbi Eli Schlanger was the first laid to rest, drawing masses of black-clad mourners who spilled out of the Chabad of Bondi Synagogue in Sydney’s east.

Two young women howled with sorrow as they flung themselves on the father-of-five’s casket that was draped with a black velvet cloth bearing the Star of David.

“You’re my son, my friend and confidant,” father-in-law Yehoram Ulman, choking back tears, told the funeral.

“To think I will go a day without you, it doesn’t seem possible.”

The 41-year-old was a popular figure known to many around town as the “rabbi of Bondi”.

He served as a chaplain in prisons and hospitals, according to the Hasidic Chabad movement.

Weeping men fell into each other’s arms as their legs buckled under the weight of their anguish.

“This loss is massive for the entire Jewish nation, but for our community here, and for Chabad of Bondi, the loss is unspeakable,” rabbi Levi Wolff told the funeral.

Squads of police patrolled the streets outside the Bondi synagogue, marshalling the large crowds gathered for the service.

Those unable to cram inside huddled together on the street to watch on their cellphones.

“My heart goes out to the community today and every day,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

“But today particularly will be a difficult day with the first funerals underway.”

Mourners later crammed into a suburban chapel for the funeral of rabbi Yaakov Levitan.

Levitan was a father of four renowned for his charitable work, the Chabad movement said.

Among the other victims were a 10-year-old girl, two Holocaust survivors, and a married couple shot and killed as they tried to thwart the attack.

Questions are mounting over whether authorities could have acted earlier to foil the gunmen.

Naveed Akram, reportedly an unemployed bricklayer, came to the attention of Australia’s intelligence agency in 2019.

But he was not considered to be an imminent threat at the time and largely fell off the radar.

‘Australian heroes’

Recently surfaced dashcam footage shows married couple Boris and Sofia Gurman trying to thwart the attack in its early stages.

Retired mechanic Boris Gurman, 69, knocks one attacker to the ground as he tries to rip away his long-barrelled gun.

He briefly wrests control of Sajid Akram’s weapon as his wife Sofia Gurman, 61, dashes towards him in support.

The assailant reportedly managed to get another gun, and the couple was shot and killed.

“While nothing can lessen the pain of losing Boris and Sofia, we feel an overwhelming sense of pride in their bravery and selflessness,” the Gurman family said in a statement.

Australia’s leaders have agreed to toughen laws that allowed Sajid Akram to own six guns.

Mass shootings have been rare in Australia since a lone gunman killed 35 people in the tourist town of Port Arthur in 1996.

That attack sparked a world-leading crackdown that included a gun buyback scheme and limits on semi-automatic weapons.

However, Australia has documented a steady rise in privately owned firearms in recent years.

The attack has also revived allegations that Australia is dragging its feet in the fight against antisemitism.

“I demand that Western governments do what is necessary to fight antisemitism and provide the required safety and security for Jewish communities worldwide,” Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video address on Tuesday.

“They would do well to heed our warnings,” he added. “I demand action — now.”

Published – December 17, 2025 11:59 am IST

Australia held the first funeral on Wednesday (December 17, 2025) for victims of the Bondi Beach mass shooting, as large crowds gathered to grieve a rabbi slain in the attack.

Sajid Akram and his son Naveed opened fire on a Jewish festival at the famed surf beach on Sunday (December 14) evening, killing 15 people and wounding dozens more.

Among the victims were a 10-year-old girl, two Holocaust survivors, and a married couple shot dead as they tried to thwart the attack.

Father-of-five Eli Schlanger, known as the “Bondi rabbi”, was the first person mourned with a service at Chabad of Bondi Synagogue.

Schlanger was a chaplain who served in prisons and hospitals, according to the Chabad movement, which represents a branch of Hasidic Jews and organised Sunday’s (December 14) event.

Mourners cried as his body was wheeled into the synagogue inside a black coffin. Two young women wailed with grief as they draped themselves over the casket.

“Anyone who knew him knew that he was the very best of us,” said Jewish community leader Alex Ryvchin before the funeral.

The Chabad of Bondi Synagogue will hold a second funeral for 39-year-old rabbi Yaakov Levitan in the afternoon. Levitan was a father of four renowned for his charitable work, the Chabad movement said.

Squads of police patrolled the streets outside the Bondi synagogue, marshalling the large crowds gathered to pay their respects.

“My heart goes out to the community today and every day,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday(December 17). “But today particularly will be a difficult day with the first funerals underway,” he told a local radio station.

Sowing panic

Authorities said the attack was designed to sow panic among the nation’s Jews.

Mr. Albanese said the father-and-son gunmen had been radicalised by an “ideology of hate”.

“It would appear that this was motivated by Islamic State ideology,” he told national broadcaster ABC on Tuesday (December 16).

Questions are mounting over whether authorities could have acted earlier to foil the attack.

Naveed Akram, reportedly an unemployed bricklayer, came to the attention of Australia’s intelligence agency in 2019. But he was not considered to be an imminent threat at the time and largely fell off the radar.

Police are investigating whether the pair met with Islamist extremists in a visit to the Philippines weeks before the attack.

Manila’s immigration department has confirmed to AFP that they spent almost all of November in the Philippines, with their final destination listed as Davao. The region, on the southern island of Mindanao, has a long history of Islamist insurgencies.

Carrying long-barrelled guns, the duo fired upon the Bondi beachfront for 10 minutes before police shot and killed 50-year-old Sajid Akram.

Naveed Akram, 24, was also shot and remained in hospital under police guard. He woke from a coma on Tuesday (December 16) night, local media reported.

Australian heroes

Recently surfaced dashcam footage showed married couple Boris and Sofia Gurman trying to thwart the attack in its earliest stages.

Retired mechanic Boris Gurman, 69, knocks one attacker to the ground as he tries to rip away his long-barrelled gun. He briefly wrests control of Sajid Akram’s weapon as his wife Sofia Gurman, 61, dashes towards him in support.

The assailant reportedly managed to get another gun, and the couple were shot and killed.

“While nothing can lessen the pain of losing Boris and Sofia, we feel an overwhelming sense of pride in their bravery and selflessness,” the Gurman family said in a statement.

Australia’s leaders have agreed to toughen laws that allowed father Sajid Akram to own six guns.

Mass shootings have been rare in Australia since a lone gunman killed 35 people in the tourist town of Port Arthur in 1996. That attack sparked a world-leading crackdown that included a gun buyback scheme and limits on semi-automatic weapons.

But in recent years Australia has documented a steady rise in privately owned firearms.

The attack has also revived allegations that Australia is dragging its feet in the fight against antisemitism.

“I demand that Western governments do what is necessary to fight antisemitism and provide the required safety and security for Jewish communities worldwide,” Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video address Tuesday (December 16).

“They would do well to heed our warnings,” he added. “I demand action — now.”

Published – December 17, 2025 06:57 am IST

Police officers stand guard outside the house of the suspects of a shooting incident on a Jewish holiday celebration at Bondi Beach, in Bonnyrigg, Sydney, Australia, December 15, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

This screen grab made from UGC handout video footage courtesy of Timothy Brant-Coles shows two gunmen dressed in black firing multiple shots on a bridge at Bondi Beach in Sydney on December 14, 2025. The father and son behind one of Australia’s deadliest mass shootings spent nearly the entire month of November in the Philippines, Manila’s immigration department confirmed on December 16, with the father entering the country as an “Indian national”. (Photo by AFP Photo/Courtesy of Timothy Brant-Coles/Handout)