(nypost.com)
The two gunmen who opened fire on Australia’s Bondi Beach, where thousands of Jews were celebrating Hanukkah, are believed to be a father-son duo who had a trove of legally owned guns, authorities said.
Naveed Akram, 24, and his 50-year-old father, Sajid, allegedly stormed the family-friendly Chanukah by the Sea event armed with shotguns and a bolt-action rifle, killing at least 15 and injuring 40 more in Sunday’s terror attack on Sydney’s world-famous beach, New South Wales police announced Monday.
The pair owned at least six guns between them, each of which was fully licensed.
The father, who was killed at the scene during a shootout with police, was part of a “gun club” and held a recreational hunting license for over a decade, officials said.
“He met the eligibility criteria for a firearm’s license,” New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon told reporters during a press conference.
“So the firearms license was to be for a recreational hunting license. There are two types of hunting license: the ability to hunt on a property or also as part of a hunting club — so a gun club. He was a member of a gun club and was entitled by nature of the firearms act to have a firearms license issued.”
Sajid has had his license since 2015, allowing him to legally own the “long arms that he had” as registered guns, Lanyon added.
“In terms of a firearms license, the firearms registry conducts a thorough examination of all applications to ensure a person is fit and proper to hold a firearms license,” Lanyon noted.
“We are very much working through the background of both persons. At this stage, we know very little about them.”
The shooting erupted Sunday night despite Australia cracking down on firearms following the 1996 mass shooting in Port Arthur, Tasmania, which left 35 dead and 24 wounded.
Semi-automatic rifles were banned and the country enacted strict registration and purchasing restrictions for all weapons.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said officials are considering changes to state gun laws in the wake of the bloody massacre, which left victims — most believed to be Jewish — ranging in age from 10 to 87 dead.
“I think it’s time that we have a change to the law in relation to the firearms legislation in New South Wales, but I’m not ready to announce it today,” he said during the press conference.
“We want to make sure that prospective reform and change in New South Wales has a lasting impact. If you’re not a farmer, if you’re not involved in agriculture, why do you need these massive weapons that put the public in danger and make life dangerous and difficult for New South Wales police?”
In addition to children, the victims include a rabbi and a Holocaust survivor.
The horrific attack unfolded as about 1,000 people gathered for the Jewish holiday on the popular beach.
Beachgoers frantically scattered, with screams heard as gunshots rang out for 10 terrifying minutes until a local fruit seller — 43-year-old Ahmed Al-Ahmed — bravely snuck up on Akram, tackled him to the ground, and wrestled the weapon from his hands.
Al-Ahmed was shot twice during his act of heroism and is reportedly in the hospital recovering from surgery, according to his family.
Akram is also in the hospital after being critically wounded by police. He is likely to face criminal charges in the cowardly terror plot that targeted Jewish people, Lanyon said.
The rampage is the deadliest mass shooting in Australia in nearly 30 years.





