- Gunmen threw four undetonated bombs, including a tennis ball bomb, at Bondi Beach attack
- Naveed and Sajid Akram trained with firearms in New South Wales before the shooting
- The pair recorded an ISIS-flag video justifying the attack with political and religious views
The gunmen behind the deadly Bondi Beach attack last week threw four undetonated explosives -- including a "tennis ball bomb" -- at the start of the attack that killed 15 people, according to newly released court documents. The statement alleges the 24-year-old Naveed Akram and his father, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, conducted "firearms training" in an area of New South Wales outside of Sydney and recorded a video about their "justification" for the attack, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported, citing police documents.
Naveed Akram has been charged 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, over the mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration on 14 December. The accused, who was shot by police during the attack, was released from the hospital on Monday and transferred to prison. His father, Sajid Akram, the second gunman, was shot dead.
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Bombs Thrown On Crowd
Photo of boot of Naveed Akram's car with what appears to be an improvised explosive device (IED). Photo Credit: AFP
According to a police statement made public following Naveed Akram's video court appearance on Monday, the 24-year-old and his father threw four improvised explosive devices-- believed to be three pipe bombs and a tennis ball bomb-- toward the crowd at the Jewish event at Bondi Beach, but the bombs didn't explode.
Gunmen Trained Before Attack
Police said that the pair also carried out "firearms training" in what was believed to be the New South Wales countryside before the shooting. Pictures were released showing the accused firing shotguns and moving in what authorities described as a "tactical manner".
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Frame grab from CCTV video footage of Sajid and Naveed Akram allegedly exiting 103 Brighton Avenue in Campsie on December 14. Photo Credit: AFP
ISIS Manifesto Video
The two also recorded a video in October railing against "Zionists" while sitting in front of a flag of the Islamic State Group and detailing their motivations for the attack, police said.
The video allegedly shows the father and son express "political and religious views" and "appear to summarise their justification for the Bondi terrorist attack," the ABC reported.
Documents showed that the pair made a nighttime "reconnaissance" trip to Bondi Beach just days before the killings.
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Australian PM's Vow
Australia observed a minute's silence at 6:47 pm (0747 GMT) on Sunday -- exactly a week since the first reports of gunfire. The antisemitic attack at the start of the eight-day Hanukkah celebration was Australia's worst mass shooting since a lone gunman killed 35 people in Tasmania state in 1996.
On Monday, Albanese said he would push for tough new laws creating "an aggravated offence for hate preaching".
"We're not going to let the ISIS-inspired terrorists win. We won't let them divide our society, and we'll get through this together," Albanese told reporters.
"As Prime Minister, I feel the weight of responsibility for an atrocity that happened whilst I'm Prime Minister, and I'm sorry for what the Jewish community and our nation as a whole have experienced," he said.
"The government will work every day to protect Jewish Australians, to protect the fundamental right as Australians that they have to be proud of who they are, to practise their faith, to educate their children and to engage in Australian society in the fullest way possible," he added.
ALSO READ: "Dangerous Guns Must Go": Australia Announces Buyback Scheme After Bondi Beach Shooting
Crackdown On Guns
The New South Wales government introduced draft laws on gun ownership to Parliament on Monday that Premier Chris Minns said would become the toughest in Australia.
The new restrictions would include making Australian citizenship a condition of qualifying for a firearms licence. That would have excluded Sajid Akram, who was an Indian citizen and held an Australian permanent resident visa.
Sajid Akram also legally owned six rifles and shotguns. A new legal limit for recreational shooters would be a maximum of four guns.
