Members of the local Jewish community take part in a special prayer for the victims of the Bondi Beach shooting, at a vigil held at the Bondi Chabad Center, Sydney, on December 15, 2025. SAEED KHAN / AFP
Footage from the terrorist attack along Bondi Beach in eastern Sydney, which killed 15 people on Sunday, December 14, showed the assailants, Sajid and Naveed Akram, a father and son, armed with two sniper rifles, at least one shotgun and wearing ammunition belts.
Witnesses said they heard more than 30 shots in less than 10 minutes. To prevent another mass shooting, Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese convened a meeting of state and territory leaders on Monday evening to push for tougher gun control laws. "People can be radicalized over time. Licenses should not be in perpetuity," he said.
Sajid Akram, 50, had held a recreational firearms license since 2023. The hunting permit authorized him to possess an unlimited number of certain types of rifles. He owned six, all of which had been duly registered, with four of them being found at the scene of the terrorist attack. Just like him, 943,000 Australians (out of a total population of 27 million) have firearm permits and, on average, own 4.3 firearms each.
