Newly unsealed court documents have exposed the meticulous preparation and extremist motivations behind the deadly terrorist attack at a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach. The alleged perpetrators, 24-year-old Naveed Akram and his father Sajid Akram, who was killed during the incident, reportedly recorded a video manifesto in October featuring Islamic State group imagery and detailed explanations of their intent.
Police evidence indicates the attackers employed four undetonated explosive devices during their assault on December 14, including an improvised ‘tennis ball bomb.’ Surveillance footage captured the pair conducting reconnaissance missions at the beach two days prior to the attack, with additional CCTV showing them transporting ‘long and bulky items wrapped in blankets’ from their rented accommodation in Campsie hours before the violence unfolded.
According to investigative reports, these concealed items included three firearms, multiple homemade explosive devices, and two Islamic State flags. The attackers allegedly positioned these flags on their vehicle’s interior windows before proceeding to a footbridge where they initiated their assault. Despite throwing three pipe bombs and the tennis ball device during their approach, none of the explosives detonated, though authorities confirmed they were functionally viable.
Digital evidence recovered from Naveed Akram’s mobile device contained footage showing both individuals engaged in tactical firearms training in rural New South Wales, further demonstrating their extensive preparation. The accused, currently hospitalized with abdominal gunshot wounds inflicted by responding officers, faces fifteen murder charges among numerous other offenses. A temporary suppression order protecting survivor identities was partially lifted Monday following media petitions, though most names remain redacted from public documents.