Australia charges Bondi Beach shooter with terrorism as funerals begin

Australian authorities have charged a man over the deadly shooting at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, formally treating the attack as terrorism as mourning families begin burying the victims.

Police and courts said on Wednesday that 59 charges are being laid following the attack, which killed 15 people and wounded dozens more, including two police officers. Among the charges are “committing a terrorist act”, murder, wounding with intent to murder, placing an explosive, and discharging a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Twenty people remain in Sydney hospitals with injuries from Sunday’s shooting, according to New South Wales Health. One patient is in critical condition, while several others are listed as critical but stable.

Police say the attack was carried out by two men: 50-year-old Sajid Akram and his 24-year-old son, Naveed Akram. The pair allegedly used six firearms owned by the elder Akram. Sajid Akram was killed at the scene, while his son survived after being shot by police.

New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said investigators are waiting for medication to fully wear off before formally questioning Naveed Akram, who reportedly emerged from a coma on Tuesday afternoon.

“For his fairness, we need him to understand what is exactly happening,” Lanyon said.

In a statement, NSW police said prosecutors will argue in court that the accused “engaged in conduct that caused death, serious injury and endangered life to advance a religious cause and cause fear in the community”.

“Early indications point to a terrorist attack inspired by ISIS, a listed terrorist organisation in Australia,” police said, referring to the group also known as ISIL. Authorities added that the suspect has so far refused to be interviewed.

The investigation has taken on an international dimension. Philippine officials moved quickly on Wednesday to reject any suggestion their country played a role in radicalising the attackers, after reports emerged that the two men had travelled there in early November and spent time in the southern province of Davao, a region long affected by insurgency.

“There is no evidence that the attackers received any form of training in the Philippines,” presidential spokeswoman Claire Castro said at a briefing, reading from a statement by the National Security Council. “(President Ferdinand Marcos) strongly rejects the sweeping statement and the misleading characterisation of the Philippines as the ISIS training spot,” she added.