The two gunmen who opened fire on a Jewish gathering in Sydney's Bondi Beach on Sunday are reportedly a father-son duo. The mass shooting, declared a terrorist attack by Australian authorities, killed at least 16, including one of the two gunmen, and 15 civilians.
The deadly attack unfolded on Sunday afternoon when hundreds of people had gathered at the popular Bondi Beach to attend the Chanukah by the Sea event, marking the first day of Jewish festival of Hanukkah.
ABC, which first reported on the relationship between the two gunmen, cited law enforcement sources.
Some more details about the two shooters were shared on Monday morning (local time) by New South Wales Premier Chris Minn and Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon, who also confirmed that there was no third suspect in the case.
What we know about the two gunmen so far
In an update on Monday morning, NSW Premier Minn said that one of the two gunmen remains in the hospital under guard.
ABC confirmed that the hospitalised gunman was the suspect identified earlier as 24-year-old Naveed Akram.
The gunman's reported father, whose identity is yet to be disclosed, was 50, and was shot dead during the exchange of gunfire with the police.
Authorities further said that the duo, whose Bonnyrigg residence was earlier raided by police, were staying at an address in Campsie.
Motives, however, remain unclear at the moment: “We'll look at the motives behind the attack and that's really as part of the investigation,” NSW police chief Lanyon said, declining to comment on a black Islamic State (IS) flag reportedly seen at the scene.
Lanyon added that the older shooter had a gun licence for 10 years, taking the total number of registered firearms in his name to six, as per ABC.
While it is unclear for what purpose the older gunman used firearms, no incident was reported in his 10 years of gun licence ownership.
In addition, police said two ‘basic’ explosives were found at the duo's suburban home, but none were triggered during recovery.
Victims ranged from children to the elderly
NSW Premier Minn also shared some details about the victims following Sunday's horrific shooting, confirming earlier reports that a child had been killed.
Minn said that the ages of the victims ranged from 10 to 87 years, adding that 42 people were treated in hospitals overnight.
Earlier it had been reported that a British Rabbi Eli Schlanger was one of the victims, along with a 10-year-old girl.
NSW Police are yet to reveal the identities of the other victims of the terror attack.
