Less than 90 minutes later, the first shots rang out at Bondi Beach.
Naveed, an unemployed bricklayer, and Sajid, a fruiterer, allegedly opened fire into a crowd gathered to celebrate Hanukkah.
Their rampage left 16 dead and scores injured.
Sajid was shot and killed at the scene by police. Naveed was also shot and remains in a critical condition in hospital.
An improvised explosive described as a pipe bomb was found inside and disarmed by specialist police. An ISIS flag was reportedly also inside the vehicle.
Police recovered four weapons at the scene and on Monday afternoon seized two more from the rented room in Campsie. Officers came and went from the home all day wearing ballistic vests until the weapons could be removed in large paper evidence bags.
Police remove two weapons from a short-term rental at Campsie.Credit: Nine News
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said on Monday that Sajid “arrived in 1998 on a student visa, transferred in 2001 to a partner visa and after trips overseas has been on resident return visas which occurred three times”. Naveed was born in Australia.
Akram’s mother was unable to identify her son from a photo from the scene of the shooting, but said she didn’t believe he could be involved in any violent or extremist activities.
Police close a street in Bonnyrigg following a mass shooting in Bondi. Authorities said the police action was linked to the attack.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
“He doesn’t have a firearm. He doesn’t even go out. He doesn’t mix around with friends. He doesn’t drink, he doesn’t smoke, he doesn’t go to bad places … he goes to work, he comes home, he goes to exercise and that’s it,” she told this masthead.
“Anyone would wish to have a son like my son … he’s a good boy.”
Akram was looking for work after being laid off from his bricklaying job about two months ago when the company he worked for became insolvent.
An image appearing to show alleged terror shooter Naveed Akram completing his Koran studies in western Sydney.Credit: Facebook
While he had many friends during his high school days at Cabramatta High School, he wasn’t particularly social, Verena said. She said he didn’t appear to spend a lot of time online. He loved fishing, scuba diving, swimming and exercising.
Akram appeared to be tagged in a 2022 social media post showing he had passed his Koran studies at Al-Murad Institute, which teaches Arabic and Koran studies in Heckenberg, also in western Sydney. The post has since been removed.
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The man in the image, who this masthead has chosen not to identify in this story, said he had lost contact with Akram in early 2022.
“I am devastated by the images of the victims in Bondi,” he said.
The man said he and his family has been forced to leave their home after receiving death threats.
Akram’s mother is a stay-at-home parent, caring for her elderly mother nearby. Akram lived at the property with his parents and younger sister, 22, and brother, 20. The three-bedroom property was bought in 2024. The family previously lived in Cabramatta.
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