Bondi Shooter’s Son Was ‘Known to Agencies’ as Gunman Legally Held High-Powered Rifles

SYDNEY: The coordinated terror attack at Bondi Beach on Sunday, which resulted in 15 fatalities, is sparking a serious debate about potential security failures after it was revealed that one of the alleged perpetrators, Naveed Akram, 24, was known to security agencies prior to the attack.

The security intelligence failure, combined with the fact that his father, Sajid Akram, 50, was a legal gun owner who possessed six long rifles, has led to calls for immediate changes to Australia’s gun licensing procedures.

Former NSW Police Detective Superintendent Robert Critchlow described the situation as deeply “uncomfortable.” Critchlow argued that existing licensing checks—which cover storage and domestic violence—are insufficient if they fail to account for household connections to individuals deemed a security risk.

“If someone’s involved in an immediate family that’s a risk, there shouldn’t be firearms in that house,” Critchlow told Sunrise, suggesting a critical gap in the background check process that prioritizes individual behavior over family risk assessment.

Critchlow warned that while the licensing system works to identify obvious red flags, those who “tick along in the background with bad ideas and bad intentions” often go undetected until it is too late.

The elder Akram was a licensed gun owner since 2015 and a member of two shooting associations. Police allege he and his son used these legally acquired weapons to open fire from a footbridge, killing victims including a 10-year-old girl and a Holocaust survivor.

While various agencies face mounting calls for accountability, Critchlow insisted that the focus must remain on the malicious intent behind the crime. “Two guys formed an evil intent and came here and did wickedness. So we’ve got to keep the blame on the bad people that did the bad things,” he concluded.