Telangana Police Confirms Bondi Beach Shooter Was From Hyderabad, Left India 27 Years Ago

The Bondi Beach Hanukkah shooting is being treated as a terrorist act inspired by Islamic State, with investigators examining the suspects’ Hyderabad origins, travel history, and a Philippine trip for potential external guidance or support.

Fifteen people died and many others were injured in a mass shooting during a Hanukkah gathering at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, as investigators treated the event as a terrorist attack linked to the so-called Islamic State group. Australian police identified the suspected gunmen as a father and son, with one of them traced back to Hyderabad in India.

Officers said the older suspect, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, was shot dead at the scene, while 24-year-old Naveed Akram survived with injuries and is under guard in hospital. Authorities have seized a vehicle linked to the pair and recovered items they say support a terror motivation, including improvised explosives and flags tied to the so-called Islamic State group.

Bondi attack: key details on the Sydney shooting and victims

The shooting happened on Sunday at Bondi Beach, one of Australia’s most visited coastal landmarks, where families and community members had gathered for a Jewish Hanukkah celebration. Gunfire broke out without warning, leaving 15 people dead. Australian investigators said the attackers appeared to target a crowd with people of different ages and physical abilities present at the event.

On Tuesday, Australia’s federal police commissioner, Krissy Barrett, described the incident as "a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State." Barrett added: "The suspected murderers, callous in how they allegedly coordinated their attack, appeared to have no regard for the age or ableness of their victims," and also stated, "It appears the alleged killers were interested only in a quest for a death tally."

Bondi attack: Indian link and Hyderabad background of Sajid Akram

Telangana police said Sajid Akram came from Hyderabad and first moved to Australia in November 1998 on a student visa. Before leaving India, Akram gained a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Hyderabad and, according to state officials, went abroad in search of employment opportunities. Telangana’s Director General of Police confirmed Akram’s age and migration details.

Senior Telangana officers said Akram had lived in Australia for about 27 years and stayed in touch with relatives in Hyderabad only occasionally. They stressed there was no sign that Akram’s alleged radicalisation involved any operational or ideological link to India. Police also noted that Akram last travelled to Hyderabad in 2022 and still used an Indian passport.

Bondi attack: family ties, citizenship and disputes in Hyderabad

Officials in Telangana reported that Akram’s children, including Naveed and a daughter, were born in Australia and hold Australian citizenship, while Akram continued as an Indian national. Investigators said Akram’s wider family in Hyderabad had severed contact years earlier following domestic disagreements, and relatives were believed to have kept distance from Akram long before the Bondi Beach attack.

Police sources stated that Akram did not attend his father’s funeral prayers in 2017, which they saw as evidence of a long-standing estrangement. After settling in Australia, Akram married Venera Grosso, who police described as being of European origin, and the couple raised their two children there. The family reportedly lived permanently in Australia and did not return to India to reside.

Bondi attack: evidence gathered, vehicle search and Islamic State links

Australian investigators said the vehicle used by the pair, which was registered to Naveed Akram, formed a central part of the early investigation. Police seized the car after the shooting and said they located improvised explosive devices inside. They also reported finding two homemade flags that displayed symbols associated with the so-called Islamic State group.

Authorities said these discoveries supported their assessment of a terrorist motive, though they continued to check for any wider network or support structure. Investigators are examining digital records, travel logs and financial data to determine whether the Bondi Beach attack was planned solely by the father and son or involved guidance from outside contacts.

Bondi attack: Philippines trip and travel data under scrutiny

Australian police are closely reviewing a recent overseas trip by the suspects to the Philippines, taken in the month before the Bondi Beach shooting. The Philippine Bureau of Immigration told the BBC that Sajid Akram and Naveed Akram entered the Philippines on 1 November and left on 28 November, a period now under detailed security and intelligence review.

The bureau’s spokesperson, Dana Sandoval, said Sajid travelled on an Indian passport while Naveed used an Australian passport. Records show they listed the southern city of Davao as their destination and held return bookings to Sydney. Davao lies on the island of Mindanao, where groups such as Abu Sayyaf had previously sworn allegiance to the so-called Islamic State and, in earlier years, hosted some foreign militants.

Philippine military officials said they could not yet verify reports that the pair undertook "military-style training" during their stay. Security authorities in the Philippines pointed to decades of operations that they say have weakened Islamist organisations in Mindanao and said there had been no recent confirmed presence of foreign militants there. Australian officials said the purpose of the Philippines trip and the specific locations visited were still being investigated.

As investigations continue, Australian and Indian authorities are working separately on their areas of focus, with no current evidence of any Indian operational link to the alleged radicalisation of Sajid Akram. Officials in Australia still aim to clarify whether the Bondi attack drew on foreign support, including the Philippines trip, or was mainly planned by the father and son alone.