Australian authorities have revealed that the suspects behind the Bondi Beach shooting recorded a video manifesto, which was rife with antisemitic rhetoric and expressions of support for the Islamic State.
According to investigators, the alleged attackers, a father-son duo identified as 50-year-old Sajid Akram and 24-year-old Naveed Akram, may have orchestrated the assault over several months. While only the son survived the incident, he is now facing charges of murder and terrorism.
Police have discovered a video on the son’s phone, which outlines the pair’s “political and religious views” and appears to articulate their motives for the terrorist attack at Bondi.
In the footage, the two men reportedly denounce “the acts of Zionists” and express allegiance to a religious ideology associated with the Islamic State, according to police statements.
An image juxtaposes an ISIS flag held by masked individuals with the scene of a police-secured crime site at Bondi Beach, following the shooting. (Tauseef Mustafa/David Gray/AFP via Getty Images)
Authorities claim there is substantial evidence indicating that the accused and his father meticulously planned the terrorist attack over an extended period.
Some of the footage, shot in October, shows the pair firing shotguns in the woods and “moving in a tactical manner.”
The two hurled four improvised explosive devices toward a crowd but the devices failed to detonate, authorities said.
The attack has placed heightened scrutiny on rising antisemitism in Australia and what Jewish leaders say was the government’s refusal to act against it.
Naveed Akram, the accused in the shooting during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on Dec. 14, conducting firearms training at a location suspected to be in New South Wales, Australia, in this still image taken from a court document released Dec. 22, 2025. (NSW Police/Handout via REUTERS)
Australian Prime Minister Anthony AlbaneseAnthony Albanese was met with boos while attending a vigil honoring the victims of the Bondi Beach shooting on Sunday.
An estimated 10,000 mourners, including Albanese and various Australian politicians and members of the Jewish community, gathered on Bondi Beach to commemorate the victims. David Ossip, who serves as president of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, remarked on Albanese’s presence to the crowd and received a chorus of boos.
Meanwhile, the crowd cheered at the mention of opposition leader Sussan Ley. Ley has said that a coalition government under her leadership would reverse a decision by Albanese’s government to recognize a Palestinian state.
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (C), his wife Jodie Haydon (2nd L), Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles (2nd R) and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke (R) arrive for a memorial for the victims of the mass shooting that took place last week at Bondi Beach on December 21, 2025 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Izhar Khan/Getty Images)
The Dec. 14 attack left 15 people dead and dozens more hospitalized. The father was killed in the attack, while the son was critically injured. He woke from a coma last week and is now facing charges.
