Bondi Shooters Were Planning For Months, Hurled Homemade Bombs At Crowd Before Shooting

Last Updated:December 22, 2025, 15:10 IST

The Bondi beach shooters had been planning the deadly attack at a Hanukkah event for months, investigation has revealed.

The shooters opened fire at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration in Bondi. (IMAGE: @sniffsonX/X)

Over a week after the deadly shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, chilling details have emerged about the shooters and their carefully executed plot that left 15 people dead and several injured.

As probe continues into the December 14 mass shooting, authorities have revealed that before launching the deadly attack, the shooters hurled homemade pipe and tennis ball bombs at a crowd at the beach but their plan failed as they didn’t detonate, Reuters reported, citing court documents released on Monday.

The attack at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration in Bondi left the nation in shock, prompting calls for stricter gun laws and increased measures to combat antisemitism.

One of the alleged gunmen, Sajid Akram (50), who was shot dead by police, owned six firearms. His son, 24-year-old Naveed Akram, has been charged with 59 offences, including murder and terrorism. Police said the father-son duo had been planning the attack for several months and did surveillance of the shooting site two days prior the attack.

A police fact sheet released by the court included images showing the duo allegedly training with firearms in a rural area of New South Wales, which includes Sydney. Authorities also recovered a video from one of the gunmen’s phones, taken in October, showing them seated in front of an Islamic State flag, making statements in English about their motivations while condemning the actions of Zionists.

According to the report, just after 2 am (local time) on the day of the attack, the men were captured on CCTV moving long, bulky items wrapped in blankets from a rental house in Campsie to a car. They drove to Bondi around 5 pm, carrying what police believe were two single-barrel shotguns, a Beretta rifle, three pipe bombs, a tennis ball bomb, and a large improvised explosive device.

Police allege the pipe and tennis ball bombs were thrown at the crowd before the shooting began, but neither exploded. Investigators also found 3D-printed parts for a shotgun, bomb-making equipment, and copies of the Quran at the Campsie house.

In response to the tragedy, the New South Wales parliament was recalled on Monday to vote on proposed laws that would impose strict firearm limits, ban the display of terror symbols, and restrict certain public protests. The legislation would cap gun ownership at four firearms per person, or up to ten for select groups such as farmers.

Despite Australia’s strict gun laws, the Bondi attack highlighted existing gaps. Police records show over 70 residents in the state own more than 100 guns, with one licence holder possessing 298. The proposed laws would also allow police to remove face coverings during protests and ban chants like “globalise the intifada," which authorities say incite violence.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns told reporters, “We have got a responsibility to knit together our community that comes from different races and religions and places from all over the world. We can do it in a peaceful way." He acknowledged that the legislation could face opposition but stressed it was necessary to keep communities safe.

News world Bondi Shooters Were Planning For Months, Hurled Homemade Bombs At Crowd Before Shooting

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