Man faces 59 charges over attack on Jewish festival

Naveed Akram’s case widened again in Sydney as prosecutors filed 19 more offences tied to the Bondi Beach attack on a Hanukkah celebration that killed 15 people. The 24-year-old was already facing 59 counts, and the latest allegations lift the total to 78 as investigators continue to build the case around one of Australia’s deadliest mass shootings in decades.

In Downing Centre Local Court, the Commonwealth prosecutor said paperwork for the additional charges had been filed. Court records show the new allegations include 10 counts of shooting at with intent to murder, six counts of discharging a firearm with intent to resist arrest and three counts of causing wounding or grievous bodily harm with intent to murder. Akram has not yet entered a plea.

The expanding charge sheet also points to a much larger evidentiary record. Prosecutors told the court the brief of evidence contained 230,000 CCTV images, while numerous devices and translated material linked to other people reportedly connected to Akram were still being examined. His lawyer, Leonie Gittani, said outside court that he had been aware more charges could come and that it was not unusual in a case of this magnitude.

Akram was first charged in December with committing a terrorist act, 15 murders and 40 attempted murders after the December 14, 2025, shooting at Bondi Beach. Police said the attack, carried out with his father, Sajid Akram, 50, killed 15 people, including a 10-year-old girl, and left dozens injured; Sajid Akram was shot dead by police at the scene. The father-son attack was Australia’s deadliest mass shooting since Port Arthur in 1996, and it has intensified concern over antisemitism and security around faith communities, with a government-backed inquiry into antisemitism and social cohesion due by December.