More than two months after a mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney on December 14, 2025, left 15 people dead, fundamental questions surrounding the planning and execution of the attack remain unanswered. The assailants, identified as father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram, carried out the attack targeting a Hanukkah celebration, and authorities have attributed their actions to Islamic State ideology.
While the attack prompted swift condemnation and the implementation of new security measures, scrutiny of the events leading up to the shooting reveals a complex picture of intelligence gathering and potential oversights. Naveed Akram, who survived the attack and remains hospitalized, had previously been investigated by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) in 2019 for his association with Isaac El Matari, a convicted Islamic State supporter.
El Matari, who had been jailed in Lebanon for attempting to join Islamic State, allegedly sought to establish a network of support for the terrorist group in Sydney. He was later convicted of terror offenses in Australia in 2021. According to reports, ASIO investigated Naveed Akram for six months in 2019, but ultimately concluded he did not pose a threat and discontinued surveillance.
However, an investigation by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s “Four Corners” program earlier this month raised further questions about the extent of ASIO’s knowledge of the Akrams’ radicalization. The program featured claims from an individual identified as “Marcus,” who alleged he was tasked by ASIO in 2019 to infiltrate a small Sunni extremist group in Sydney led by Wissam Haddad.
Marcus claimed he repeatedly warned ASIO that Naveed Akram was a supporter of Islamic State, and that he attended a religious retreat with El Matari and others in 2019, where he was allegedly “brainwashed” with extremist material. He further asserted that Sajid Akram, the father, was also an Islamic State supporter and even more extremist than his son, justifying El Matari’s terrorist plans in discussions with an ASIO agent.
While the ABC was able to confirm the retreat took place, it could not independently verify Marcus’s description of its content. Ye Ye, a close associate of Haddad, corroborated the claim that Sajid Akram was involved with the same extremist circles, stating that the elder Akram introduced his son to the group and shared an interest in the teachings of Al Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.
ASIO responded to the “Four Corners” report by questioning Marcus’s credibility and issuing legal threats to the ABC, a response critics characterized as overly defensive. Marcus’s role as a former informant raises questions about his motivations, but his claims highlight the extent to which the Akrams were operating within a milieu monitored by intelligence agencies.
In 2020, ASIO shared information about Naveed Akram with the Joint Counter Terrorism Team, and New South Wales Police added him to an intelligence database known as the Known Entity Management System (KEMS). He was later removed from the database, but the timing of that removal remains unclear.
Also in 2020, Sajid Akram applied for a firearms license, which was granted after a three-year delay. Independent NSW MP Phil Donato, a former police prosecutor, questioned the length of the approval process, stating that such delays were unusual and raised concerns about the reasons behind it. According to the Guardian, NSW Police have the power to issue Firearm Prohibition Orders, banning individuals from owning firearms and allowing warrantless searches, but the Akrams were not subject to such an order.
Upon receiving the license in September 2023, Sajid Akram immediately purchased three identical shotguns. Experts suggest that such a purchase should have triggered a review by NSW gun authorities, but no such review occurred. The source of the firearms and the circumstances surrounding their acquisition remain under investigation.
An unnamed intelligence source told the Australian Financial Review in December that ASIO may have been focused on monitoring pro-Palestinian organizations following the October 7th attacks in Israel, potentially diverting attention from Islamic State supporters. The source’s claim, while framed within a contentious political context, suggests a possible shift in intelligence priorities.
The circumstances surrounding the Bondi Beach shooting continue to be investigated, with no official explanation offered for the failures to connect the dots and prevent the attack. The case remains open, and authorities have not publicly disclosed any further details regarding their ongoing inquiries.
