On Dec. 14, 2025, two gunmen opened fire at a Jewish Hanukkah festival on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, killing 15 people and injuring dozens more. Australian authorities called the attack an “antisemitic act of terrorism.”
Police named a father and son, Sajid Akram and Naveed Akram, as suspects. In a news conference, Australian authorities said police killed Sajid Akram, 50, at the scene, and took Naveed Akram, 24, into custody.
Numerous claims spread online about the identities of the accused shooters and their national origins, possible ties to extremist groups, and motivations. One persistent claim stated that the suspects were of Pakistani origin. The claim spread largely in Indian media outlets and on social media.
Death toll in Bondi shooting has risen to 16. The father-son duo behind the attack Sajid and Naveed Akram are of Pakistani origin.. but don’t also forget that the ‘hero’ who disarmed one of the attackers is Ahmed Al Ahmed of Syrian origin . Those who terrorise in name of…
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) December 15, 2025
Another claim stated Naveed Akram had once been a part of the Israeli military. Snopes readers wrote in asking whether this claim was true.
JUST IN: Naveed Akram is an IDF soldier that served in Gaza and returned to Australia.
Today, he lost his mind and killed 12 jews. pic.twitter.com/vbIawJAli5
— GPS (@GPS_Press) December 14, 2025
Evidence did not support either of these claims. Sajid Akram was of Indian origin, according to numerous credible reports. We’ve reached out to police in Telangana, the Indian state he reportedly originated from, for more information and will update this story accordingly.
The Israeli military said over WhatsApp that Naveed Akram had never been involved with them.
Below, we gather key available information about the suspects and debunk popular claims surrounding them:
Sajid Akram
Contrary to Indian media reports, Sajid Akram was not of Pakistani origin. According to a news release attributed to the southern Indian state of Telangana’s police authorities, the 50-year-old was originally from Hyderabad, the capital city of the state, where he obtained a degree in commerce. Sajid Akram reportedly moved to Australia in 1998 and visited India only six times thereafter.
The Australian home affairs minister told media outlets that Sajid Akram arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa, transferred to a partner visa in 2001 and had been on a resident return visa after that.
According to the reported Telangana police statement, Sajid Akram still carried an Indian passport and married an Australian woman of European origin. The statement added:
As per information available from his relatives in India, Sajid Akram had limited contact with his family in Hyderabad over the past 27 years. He visited India on six occasions after migrating to Australia, primarily for family-related reasons such as property matters and visits to his elderly parents. It is understood that he did not travel to India even at the time of his father’s demise. The family members have expressed no knowledge of his radical mindset or activities, nor of the circumstances that led to his radicalisation.
The factors that led to the radicalisation of Sajid Akram and his son, Naveed appear to have no connection with India or any local influence in Telangana. Telangana Police has no adverse record against Sajid Akram during his stay in India prior to his departure in 1998.
The full statement can be found here. Some social media posts suggested the statement was fake. However, BBC Telugu (the Telugu language service of the BBC World Service) spoke to Telangana police officials who repeated the above information. We’ve reached out to the Telangana police for more information about the statement.
Sajid Akram, per the Australian police, applied for a firearms license in 2015, but the application lapsed in 2016 because he never completed it. In 2020 he applied for a second license, which was issued in 2023.
Sajid Akram and his son reportedly traveled to the Philippines in November 2025, according to the Philippines’ immigration authorities. A spokesperson told Reuters that the two men traveled together, with Sajid Akram on an Indian passport and Naveed Akram on an Australian passport. Australian authorities said they were investigating the two men’s possible links to extremist groups in the Philippines.
Australian police said they found improvised explosive devices and two flags with labels for the Islamic State group — an extremist organization that has previously taken territory in Syria and Iraq with a view to establishing a religious state — in a car registered to Naveed Akram.
Naveed Akram
Police captured 24-year-old Naveed Akram alive but injured. He woke up from a coma in the hospital a few days after the attack and authorities subsequently charged him with 59 offenses, including 15 counts of murder. Naveed Akram is an Australian-born citizen, according to the Australian home minister.
There is no evidence Naveed Akram was a part of the Israeli military. Over WhatsApp, a spokesperson for the Israeli military denied his involvement to Snopes. Additionally, Australian police and news reports made no such connections.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told The Associated Press that Australian intelligence investigated Navid Akram for six months in 2019, and Australian media said it was looking into his purported ties to a Sydney-based Islamic State cell.
Albanese said of the 2019 investigations, “[Naveed Akram] was examined on the basis of being associated with others and the assessment was made that there was no indication of any ongoing threat or threat of him engaging in violence.”
Australian media found Naveed Akram had studied the Quran and Arabic at the al-Murad Institute in Sydney for a year after applying in 2019. The institute’s founder condemned the attack and said such actions were against Islamic teachings.
Before the attack, Naveed Akram reportedly worked as a bricklayer; according to The Guardian, his boss praised him as a hard worker.
Australian media has debunked at least two instances of AI-generated images. One showed a fake Facebook profile with Naveed Akram’s photo, allegedly revealing he was actually an Israeli man named David Cohen. Another AI-generated image falsely claimed to show Naveed Akram sitting across from India’s defense attaché to the Philippines at a cafe in the Philippines.
Snopes has previously covered U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s comments around the shootings, as well as the Muslim identity of the Bondi Beach “hero” Ahmed al-Ahmed, who tackled and disarmed one of the shooters.
Sources
“Accused Gunman in Bondi Beach Shooting Charged with 15 Counts of Murder.” NPR, 17 Dec. 2025. World. https://www.npr.org/2025/12/17/g-s1-102571/gunman-bondi-beach-charged-murder. Accessed 18 Dec. 2025.
“AI Deepfakes of Alleged Bondi Gunman Spread Online.” ABC News, 17 Dec. 2025. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-18/verify-disinformation-and-deepfakes-after-bondi-attack/106154250. Accessed 18 Dec. 2025.
“Australia Mourns after Bondi Beach Terror Attack” Dw.Com, 15 Dec. 2025. https://www.dw.com/en/australia-mourns-after-bondi-beach-terror-attack/video-75165028. Accessed 18 Dec. 2025.
“Australia’s Leaders Promise to Tighten Gun Laws after Bondi Beach Massacre on Hanukkah.” AP News, 15 Dec. 2025, https://apnews.com/article/australia-shooting-bondi-beach-sydney-3be76a51c820d547ee4697bd25c1bafd. Accessed 18 Dec. 2025.
“Bondi Beach Gunman Originally from India, Police Say.” BBC News, 16 Dec. 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyvxke3wgko. Accessed 18 Dec. 2025.
“Bondi Beach Hanukkah Shooting: What We Know about the Suspects. ” BBC, 15 Dec. 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpvd8z7k8kwo. Accessed 18 Dec. 2025.
Bucci, Nino, and Jordyn Beazley. “Bondi Beach Terror Attack: Father and Son Duo Allegedly Used Licensed Firearms in Shooting.” The Guardian, 15 Dec. 2025. Australia News. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/dec/15/bondi-beach-terror-attack-father-son-duo-alleged-behind-shooting-licensed-firearms-ntwnfb. Accessed 18 Dec. 2025.
“‘Devastating’: At Least 15 Killed in Shooting at Jewish Festival in Sydney.” Al Jazeera, 14 Dec. 2025, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12/14/australia-police-responding-after-gunshots-reported-at-sydneys-bondi-beach. Accessed 18 Dec. 2025.
“FULL PRESSER: Australian PM Albanese and NSW Leaders Brief Public After Bondi Shooting | AC1N .” YouTube, DCM News, 15 Dec. 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGV5ZDwHJto. Accessed 18 Dec. 2025.
Loe, Megan. “Did Chuck Schumer Say ‘go Bills’ before Remarks on Sydney and Brown Shootings?” Snopes, 16 Dec. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/chuck-schumer-go-bills-shootings/. Accessed 18 Dec. 2025.
“Pak-Origin Gunmen at Bondi Beach: ‘Globalize the Intifada.'” The Times of India, 15 Dec. 2025. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/sydneys-bondi-beach-attack-globalize-the-intifada-pakistani-origin-terror-sajid-akram-naveed-akram-isis/articleshow/125978155.cms. Accessed 18 Dec. 2025.
PerryCook, Taija. “Is Bondi Beach ‘hero’ Ahmed al-Ahmed Muslim? Evidence Points to Yes.” Snopes, 18 Dec. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//news/2025/12/17/bondi-beach-shooting-hero-muslim/. Accessed 18 Dec. 2025.
“Philippines Confirms Visit by Alleged Bondi Gunmen amid Terrorism Concerns.” Reuters, 16 Dec. 2025, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/philippines-confirms-visit-by-alleged-bondi-gunmen-amid-terrorism-concerns-2025-12-16/. Accessed 18 Dec. 2025.
Sadam, Rishika. “Indian Family of Alleged Bondi Gunman Didn’t Know of ‘Radical Mindset’, Indian Police Say.” Reuters, 16 Dec. 2025, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/bondi-gunman-had-limited-contact-with-family-india-indian-police-say-2025-12-16/. Accessed 18 Dec. 2025.
Walter, Riley, and Perry Duffin, Amber Schultz, Mostafa Rachwani. “Alleged Bondi Shooter Told Family He Was Going Fishing.” The Sydney Morning Herald, 15 Dec. 2025, https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/alleged-bondi-terror-gunman-naveed-akram-told-family-he-was-going-on-fishing-trip-20251214-p5nnls.html. Accessed 18 Dec. 2025.
