An Indian government official told local media on the 16th that one of the two gunmen in the April 14 Sydney Bondi Beach shooting incident is from Hyderabad, India, holding an Indian passport.
The assailant is 50-year-old Akram, who immigrated to Australia in 1998 on a student visa and has rarely returned to India since, but retained his Indian passport. Some of Akram's immediate family members still live in Hyderabad.
When asked whether Akram’s attack had any connection to India, the official stated: "Preliminary investigation has not found any such link."
As for Akram's son, Narweed, he is an Australian citizen.
Australian Prime Minister Albanese said on the 16th that the father and son responsible for the Bondi Beach shooting may have been driven by "Islamic State" extremist ideology.
Albanese revealed that 24-year-old Narweed had been on the radar of Australian intelligence agencies since 2019, but was not considered an immediate threat at that time. Among those associated with Narweed, two individuals were later prosecuted and jailed, but Narweed himself was not considered a priority figure at the time.
Narweed is still in a coma and is unable to be questioned by police.
Narweed Suspected of Military Training in Southern Philippines
Preliminary investigations indicate that the father and son spent almost the entire month of November in the Philippines. According to Philippine authorities, the two arrived in the capital Manila and then traveled to Mindanao in the southern Philippines.
An anti-terrorism source told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that Narweed very likely received some form of military training on Mindanao island in the Philippines.
Investigators noted that after completing the trip, the father and son returned to Australia on November 28, and carried out the attack just a few days after returning.