A construction worker from Sydney who once worked closely with the suspected Bondi Beach shooter has shared unsettling insights about Naveed Akram’s behavior.
Bricklayer Rishy, who oversaw Akram’s work for nearly a year during the construction of the Crows Nest Metro station on Sydney’s north shore, noted that there were always warning signs.
He described Akram as an odd, quiet individual who kept to himself, lacking any meaningful friendships or social interactions—until one day, Akram unexpectedly lashed out at a colleague in a frightening display.
Rishy, who considered himself the closest thing Akram, 24, had to a friend, was shocked when images surfaced of Akram allegedly attacking the Bondi Hanukkah festival.
The tragic incident resulted in the deaths of sixteen people, including Akram’s father, Sajid, 50, who was also involved in the shooting, and left numerous others injured. Akram is facing charges for 15 murders among a total of 59 charges.
Rishy is still processing the events, haunted by the ominous prediction made by his fellow workers at the time.
‘We talked about it,’ he told the Daily Mail.
‘We had conversations about how Nav would be one of those guys you read about that just snap.’
Naveed Akram (pictured) was a withdrawn worker having no real friends or social life
Bricklayer Rishy was Akram’s supervisor on a contract at the Crows Nest Metro Station
Naveed Akram’s workmate claims he portrayed strange and isolating behaviour
Rishy vividly remembers the day Akram went from the odd young worker to someone the crew became genuinely concerned about.
‘He had already told us he had a gun licence,’ Rishy said. ‘He was really proud of it and that keeps me awake at night now.
‘Then one day when they were putting up scaffolding, one of the guys said something about God. I don’t know exactly what was said but it wasn’t good and Nav just lost it.
‘He took heart and he just snapped at the guy yelling that you should never speak about a god like that.
‘It was just boom and the devil came out. Everyone was shocked because the guy never really spoke.
‘But just as quickly as he exploded, he calmed down as if nothing had even happened.’
Nothing could prepare him for the horrific scenes he saw unfold in Bondi though.
He said: ‘I sat across the table from him almost daily. We had breakfast together.
Akram spoke with a noticeable stutter and refused to eat
The cafe in North Sydney where the pair went for breakfast every morning
‘Seeing that unfold, I was watching those videos on repeat, I couldn’t stop myself and I couldn’t sleep.’
Rishy remembers Akram initially being completely unremarkable. He was punctual, took pride in his work and largely kept to himself.
He never spoke about his family, never mentioned weekend plans and rarely joined in casual conversations on site.
But as the months went on, Rishy began to notice unsettling quirks that now haunt him.
Akram spoke with a noticeable stutter, refused to eat and would shut down completely whenever the crew discussed their dating lives.
‘When I first met Nav in 2022 he was a pretty quiet kid, really polite – I remember thinking that kid is so respectful and has real manners,’ he said.
‘He never ate at breakfast or lunch, didn’t even drink water and would just sit there, arms folded watching us eat,’ Rishy said.
‘He didn’t scroll on his phone, just stared at me and I’d ask him, “Nav mate, aren’t you hungry?” but he just said, “No”, expressionless.
‘There was one particular guy who spoke about women, intimate details of his weekends and Nav would just go quiet,’ Rishy said.
Akram went from the odd young worker to someone the crew became genuinely concerned about
‘Completely devoid of emotions, you could see the tension but he never said a word and just watched everyone as they chatted.’
After the blow-up with the co-worker, others refused to share a room with him when a contract came up in Newcastle that required them to stay overnight in an Airbnb.
‘The boss asked the guy he had clashed with to share a twin room and he said no way,’ he said.
‘The worker that did end up sharing with him said he got up in the night to go to the bathroom and Nav was just sitting there, bolt upright praying.
‘He wouldn’t sleep and the guy was spooked. He’d say, “Nav, mate, it’s 2am, get some sleep” – but he didn’t.’
More than a week after the tragedy unfolded in Bondi, Rishy says he still cannot come to terms with seeing Akram, with the same emotionless expression he remembers so clearly, alongside his father, Sajid, as innocent families were gunned down.
Authorities have since revealed ASIO had investigated Akram in 2019 for suspected extremist links to terrorist organisations.
‘He was likely still being groomed when I worked with him,’ Rishy said.
‘What also worries me is wherever he went, whichever mosque it was, obviously preached hate speech because there is no smoke without fire.
‘There is more of them out there, and unless something is done, there is going to be another horrific attack in time.’
