In a brief court hearing held Wednesday in Sydney, prosecutors laid out the massive scope of evidence still being processed for the 25-year-old man accused of carrying out a December terrorist massacre that left 15 people dead at a Hanukkah gathering on Bondi Beach.
Naveed Akram made a short appearance before Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court, facing 78 distinct criminal charges connected to the December 14 attack, which Australian law enforcement alleges was motivated by ideological alignment with the Islamic State group. Sitting before the court, lead prosecutor Danielle New detailed the extraordinary volume of materials that investigators and legal teams are still working through to build the prosecution’s case.
To date, legal teams have finalized review of more than 800 witness statements, collected hours of surveillance and bystander video, analyzed ballistic evidence, and processed data pulled from seven seized electronic devices, New confirmed. Even with that substantial progress, a large portion of evidence remains unexamined: prosecutors still have yet to complete analysis of data from 12 additional electronic devices, as well as a full forensic testing report on the improvised explosive devices (IEDs) allegedly used in the attack.
According to police accounts of the incident, Naveed Akram carried out the attack alongside his 50-year-old father, Sajid Akram. The pair allegedly launched their attack by throwing four homemade IEDs toward a crowd of Jewish people gathered for the Hanukkah celebration. Law enforcement has confirmed the devices were three aluminum pipe bombs and one device crafted from a tennis ball, packed with explosive gunpowder and lethal steel ball bearings. While none of the constructed devices successfully detonated, police have classified them as fully functional, viable weapons.
The attempted bombing preceded a gunfight with responding officers, which left Sajid Akram dead at the scene and Naveed Akram wounded. Naveed Akram has not yet entered any pleas to the charges against him, which include 15 counts of murder, multiple counts of attempted murder, and engaging in a terrorist act.
Following the Wednesday hearing, the court granted an adjournment, scheduling the next update on the case progress for October 28, when prosecutors will share how far the evidence compilation process has advanced.