Bondi Massacre Exposes Worst Security Lapse in Australia: Shooter on Police Radar Let Off, Not Classified As 'Threat'; Cops Froze During Rampage

Sydney: The ghastly terror attack on Jewish people in Sydney's Bondi Beach has raised serious concerns over security lapses in Australia. The massacre has also put the Australian intelligence agencies on spotlight, which despite raising concerns about a possible attack from Pakistan-based groups failed to classify the shooters as “immediate threat” before the horrific killings unfolded on Sunday.

Intelligence Flagged Threat From Pakistan 1 Year Ago

One year ago, Australian intelligence agencies had mentioned in their Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) report that there was a threat from Pakistan. The agencies had flagged concerns over Australians travelling to Pakistan for terror training in their annual threat assessment report.

The report had highlighted that radicalised Australians were tracked travelling to Pakistan, where they received training from terrorist groups. The intelligence suggested that Pakistan-based groups posed a threat to Australia's national security.

The ASIO report also noted that some Australians who returned from Pakistan were involved in extremist activities, raising concerns about protentional terror attacks in Australia.

The report read, "We began tracking a concerning trend that radicalised Australians were travelling to Afghanistan and Pakistan to train with terrorist groups. Of the 25 who returned to Australia, 19 were actively involved in extremist activities and eight were convicted of terror."

Pakistan Origin Shooters

The shooters who carried out the terror attack in Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach have been identified as 24-year-old Naveed Akram and his 50-year-old father Sajid Akram. The father-son due is said to be originally from Lahore, Pakistan.

The duo killed as many as 15 innocent people who were celebrating the first night of Jewish festival Hanukkah.

Shooter Had Firearms Licence

Sajid Akram, who was killed by police on the site of the terror attack, had a firearms licence since 2015. He had a licence to own long-arm firearms, which he used to kill several people on Sunday. He was also a member of a gun club.

Shooter Was On Police Radar Since 2019

The father-son shooter duo had reportedly joined ISIS before the Sydeny attack. Naveed Akram was known to the local police and had been on a watchlist since 2019 due to his suspected allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist group. Although police confirmed he was ‘known’, they did not classify him as an ‘immediate threat’ before the incident.

Intelligence agencies revealed that Naveed Akram came under police radar six years back in connection with a Sydney-based Islamic State cell. During a search for explosives in the car which the shooters used to travel to the beach, police later recovered a black and white IS flag.

Before the Bondi Beach attack, the shooters had spent a month in the Philippines, one of the world’s top extremist hotspots.

‘Underprepared’ Cops Froze During Firing

The slow response of police as the shooters rained shots on innocent people is also being questioned. As per witnesses, the police “froze” during the rampage, which continued for 20 minutes despite there being a police station nearby. One of the witnesses said that the police were underprepared to respond to such kind of threats.

Amidst the chaos, it was a civilian who risked his life by bravely tackling one of the shooters and snatching the gun from him.

'Australia Did Not Address Anti-Semitic Attacks': Israel

While speaking exclusively to Republic, Israeli Ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, stated that there has been a rise in attacks on the Jewish communities around the world. “Unfortunately, what we have not seen is enough understanding from the Australian government regarding the implications of not addressing hate speech and anti-Semitic attacks of the kind we’ve witnessed. More robust measures could have been taken,” he added.

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