Bondi Beach: Homemade bombs were thrown before mass shooting

SYDNEY: Australian police say homemade pipe and tennis ball bombs were thrown at a crowd at Bondi Beach before a mass shooting but failed to detonate, according to court documents released on Monday.

Fifteen people were killed and dozens injured in the mass shooting at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi on December 14. The attack has shocked the nation and sparked calls for tougher gun laws and heightened efforts to stop antisemitism.

One of the alleged gunmen, Sajid Akram, 50, who was shot dead by police, owned six firearms. His 24-year-old son Naveed Akram has been charged with 59 offences, including murder and terrorism, according to police.

The alleged gunmen had planned the attack for several months and visited the Bondi beachside park for reconnaissance two days prior, said a police fact sheet released by the court.

Pictures included in the police report showed the father and son allegedly training with firearms in an isolated rural part of New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state which includes Sydney.

Police found a video taken in October on one of the gunmen’s mobile phone showing them sitting in front of an image of an Islamic State flag and making statements in English about their reasons for the attack, while condemning the acts of Zionists.

Just after 2:00 a.m. (1500 GMT) on the day of the attack, the men were captured on CCTV video carrying long and bulky items wrapped in blankets from a short-stay rental house in the suburb of Campsie to a car, said the police report.

They later drove to Bondi around 5:00 p.m. (0800GMT).

Police believe the items wrapped in the blankets were two single-barrel shotguns, a Beretta rifle, three pipe bombs, a tennis ball bomb and a large improvised explosive device.

Police allege the men threw the pipe bombs and tennis ball bomb at the crowd in the Bondi park before they began shooting, but the explosive devices did not detonate, according to the statement tendered to the court.

Police said that they later found 3D printed parts for a shotgun component at the Campsie house.

TOUGH NEW GUN LAWS

The parliament of New South Wales state was recalled on Monday to vote on proposed new laws that would impose major curbs on firearm ownership, ban the display of terror symbols and restrict protests, following the mass shooting.

The state legislation would cap the number of firearms a person can own at four, or up to 10 for certain groups, such as farmers.

Although Australia has some of the toughest gun control laws in the world after a 1996 shooting that killed 35 people, the Bondi shooting has highlighted what authorities say are gaps.

In New South Wales, there are more than 70 people in the state who own more than 100 guns, a police firearms registry shows. One licence holder has 298 guns.

The proposed legislation would also give police more powers to remove face coverings during protests or rallies. The state government has vowed to ban the chant “globalise the intifada” which it says encourages violence in the community.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns told reporters outside parliament that he expected opposition to the legislation, which includes restrictions on public assemblies in the aftermath of a terrorism event, but said it was needed to keep the community safe.

“We have got a responsibility to knit together our community that comes from different races and religions and places from all over the world. We can do it in a peaceful way,” he said.

‘I AM SORRY’ PRIME MINISTER SAYS

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has faced mounting criticism from opponents who argue his government has not done enough to curb a rise in antisemitism. He was booed by sections of the crowd during a memorial event in Bondi attended by tens of thousands of people on Sunday, one week after the shooting.

A poll conducted for the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper among 1,010 voters released on Monday found Albanese’s approval rating slumped 15 points to -9 from +6 at the beginning of December, the lowest since his resounding election win in May.

Albanese on Monday said he understood that some of the anger in the Jewish community in the aftermath of the attack was directed towards him and pleaded for national unity.

“As prime minister I feel the weight of responsibility for an atrocity that happened whilst I am prime minister and I am sorry for what the Jewish community and our nation as a whole has experienced,” he told reporters in Canberra.

Albanese’s government says it has consistently denounced antisemitism and highlighted legislation passed over the last two years to criminalise hate speech and doxxing. It also expelled Iran’s ambassador earlier this year after accusing Tehran of directing antisemitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne.

Further measures to stop hate speech proposed by Albanese’s government on Monday include a new offence of adults seeking to influence and radicalise children.

Authorities on Monday started clearing flowers, candles, letters and other items placed by the public at Bondi Beach.

The tributes would be preserved for display at the Sydney Jewish Museum and the Australian Jewish Historical Society, authorities said.

Thirteen people remain in hospital, including four in critical but stable condition, health officials said.