A statement of alleged facts released by a magistrate on Monday, the father and son suspected of carrying out Australia’s worst terror attack received firearms training at an undisclosed location in the countryside.
Images from a video showing 50-year-old Sajid Akram and his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram holding weapons and moving in a manner that suggests tactical training are included in the court document, which has redactions.
“The accused and his father are seen throughout the video firing shotguns and moving in a tactical manner,” the document states.
The Bondi beach massacre on Dec 14 claimed the lives of 15 people and was allegedly directed towards a group of Jewish families celebrating Hannukah. Police shot and killed Sajid. In addition to 15 counts of murder and 40 counts of attempted murder, his son is charged with terror.
According to the alleged facts, just before they began firing, the two threw four improvised devices at the crowd, but none of them detonated. According to the document, a tennis ball bomb and three pipe bombs were all feasible.
The document contained pictures of the IEDs, including a fifth suspected device that was put in the trunk of the car they used to drive to Bondi to carry out the attack.
Additionally, the duo is accused of making recordings in which they expressed views that seemed to support “religiously motivated violent extremism ideology.”
The document also stated that the two appeared to “summarise their justification for the Bondi terrorist attack” and made remarks “condemning the acts of Zionists” in a video that was shot in front of an image of the Islamic State flag.
“There is evidence that the Accused and his father… meticulously planned this terrorist attack for many months,” the document reads.
The paper contributes to the growing understanding of what happened before the attack.
The videos purportedly captured the men practicing firearms in a remote location, most likely in New South Wales, in October. According to a hotel employee who spoke to CNN, police previously claimed that they went to the Philippines in November, spent almost a month there, and hardly left their rooms.
According to the document released on Monday, the men went to the location of the Bondi Beach mass shooting on Dec 12. The duo was seen on closed-circuit television strolling along a footbridge close to Archer Park, from which they are alleged to shooting their victims two days later.
The court document reads, “Police allege that this is evidence of reconnaissance and planning of a terrorist act.”
According to the document, police searched an address on Bonnyrigg, west of Sydney’s city centre, in the hours following the shooting and discovered two phones, a handmade gun, a longbow with 12 arrows, and a Quran with highlighted portions.
Police were informed by Sajid’s wife that she thought he and her son were on vacation in southern New South Wales. According to the paper, she said that the son called her daily from a payphone to let her know what they were going to do that day.
It further stated that the men were thought to have been staying in a rented room in Campsie, southwest Sydney, when police officers forcibly opened the door, the day following the mass shooting. Officers discovered two copies of the Quran, one of which had an “earmarked page,” as well as 3D printed parts for a shotgun speed loader, bomb-making tools, and a long bow with 12 arrows.
As police tried to halt the violence, Naveed was shot in the stomach, according to the document. On legal advice, he turned down a formal police interview request from his hospital bed. In April, he will make his next court appearance.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese apologised to the Jewish community for what they had endured after being jeered at an event on Sunday to commemorate a week since the terror incident.
He said on Monday, “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 has experienced.”
The federal government announced plans on Monday to establish a new aggravated offence for individuals who radicalise youngsters, in addition to new rules aimed at hate speech. According to Attorney General Michelle Rowland, 17 of the 33 individuals presently in court are minors.
Meanwhile, the Premier of New South Wales, Chris Minns said the government’s proposed legislation will be the strictest in Australia when it was presented to Parliament on Monday.