Sydney’s Bondi Beach Attack: From Australia Vowing Stricter Gun Laws To The Hero Who Saved Lives

Sydney: After the worst mass shooting incident Australia ever faced in about 30 years, the country on Monday vowed stricter gun laws.

The incident, in which police accused a father-and-son duo of killing 15 people at a Jewish celebration at Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach, has raised concerns whether Australia‘s gun laws need overhaul. However, Australia was believed to have the toughest gun law in the world. According to media reports quoting police sources, the older suspect had held a firearms license since 2015. The older suspect apparently had six registered weapons, a DD News report mentioned.

In such a scenario, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday said his cabinet agreed to strengthen gun laws and work on a national firearms register. The law would tackle aspects such as the number of weapons permitted by gun licences, and how long the latter was valid.

Know what happened hours before the Sydney attack, what were the attackers doing?

Hours before he and his father carried out one of the deadliest attacks in modern Australian history, 24-year-old Naveed Akram spoke calmly to his mother, telling her he had finished swimming and was about to eat with his father, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Naveed’s mother, Verena, described him as a “good boy” and said she had no inkling he was involved in violent or extremist activity. In their last conversation on the afternoon of Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, he told her he was in Jervis Bay with his father and planned to eat before returning home, she said.

What did Naveed and his father do?
Just hours after that call, Naveed and his 50-year-old father — identified by authorities as Sajid Akram — opened fire at Bondi Beach in Sydney’s eastern suburbs during a Hanukkah celebration, killing 15 people and injuring dozens more in what police have called an antisemitic terrorist attack.
The father-son duo had reportedly told family members they were going on a fishing trip to Australia’s south coast shortly before the incident.

Timeline of the attack and immediate aftermath
The attack took place on the evening of Dec. 14 at Archer Park, near Bondi Pavilion, as hundreds gathered for the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.
Witnesses reported hearing gunfire shortly after 6:45 pm local time.
Two gunmen, dressed in black and armed with long-barrelled rifles, fired into the crowd.
Sajid Akram was killed by police in a shootout, while Naveed was shot by law enforcement and taken to a hospital in critical condition under custody.
Improvised explosive devices were found in a vehicle linked to the attackers but did not detonate.
Emergency services confirmed at least 16 deaths (including Sajid) and over 40 injuries, with ages of victims ranging widely, including a 10-year-old child.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the massacre as “pure evil,” calling it an attack on a community and on the nation’s values.

Who was Naveed Akram?
Law enforcement sources identify Naveed Akram as a man from Sydney’s south-west suburb of Bonnyrigg whose home was raided by police after the attack.
His family maintains disbelief at the allegations, emphasizing his quiet life and routine activities.
Authorities have not fully disclosed motive details but are investigating potential links to extremist ideology and possible connections to foreign terrorist networks, while also reviewing the firearms used in the shooting.

National and community response
The Bondi Beach shooting has shocked Australia and drawn international attention. Political leaders, faith groups and community figures have expressed grief and solidarity with victims, calling for unity and reflection in the aftermath of the tragedy.
Flags across the nation were flown at half-mast as the country mourned the loss of lives and grappled with the unprecedented scale of the attack.

Amid the attack, a hero rises: Ahmed al Ahmed
A bystander, Ahmed al Ahmed, was captured on video tackling and disarming an armed man during the attack. He is being hailed as a hero whose action saved lives. According to reports, he went under surgery after being shot twice. Ahmed Al Ahmed is a Muslim who migrated to Sydney from Syria’s Idlib over a decade ago and runs a tobacco shop owner and father of two daughters, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Former cricketer Michael Vaughan had narrow escape, hails Ahmed
“Being locked in a restaurant in Bondi was scary .. Now home safe .. but thanks so much to the emergency services and the guy who confronted the terrorist .. thoughts with all who have been affected,” the former cricketer, Michael Vaughan, wrote on X. Vaughan was at a nearby restaurant when the attack happened.