Indian police said on Tuesday, December 16th, that one of the two gunmen behind the mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach was an Indian citizen who left the country nearly three decades ago.
Sajid Akram, originally from Hyderabad, migrated to Australia in November 1998 in search of work, according to police in the southern state of Telangana.
Akram and his son, Naveed—listed as an Australian citizen in immigration records—opened fire on people celebrating the Jewish festival of Hanukkah on Sunday, December 14th, killing at least 15. Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the attackers were driven by Islamic State ideology and that the assault was intended to spread fear within the Jewish community.
Indian authorities said Akram had maintained only limited contact with his family in Hyderabad since leaving the country and had no criminal or adverse record in India. His relatives in India told police they were unaware of any signs of radicalisation, adding that the factors behind the attack appeared to have no connection to India or local influences in Telangana.
Australian counterterrorism officials have claimed the father and son underwent military-style training in the southern Philippines last month, a region known for its Islamist militant groups. The duo returned to Australia only weeks before the attack.
