Practised shooting, conducted recon: How Bondi Beach attackers planned ahead of the tragedy

Did the Bondi Beach gunmen plan the assault for months?

New court documents are shedding light on how the father-son duo practised for months before the attack. Sajid and Naveed Akram left 15 dead during their attack on citizens at Bondi Beach. While Sajid, 50, was shot dead by the police, Naveed was taken into custody and is facing dozens of charges.

The court had issued a temporary suppression order last week in order to protect the identities of the survivors. The order was revoked today (December 22) after a plea from media companies, and the documents were published, albeit with some redactions.

But what are the new revelations?

Let’s take a closer look.

Planned for months

Police have collected evidence of the two men wearing “black T-shirts” and allegedly using weapons in the countryside months prior to the attack from Naveed’s cellphone.

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“A video recorded in late October 2025 depicts [Naveed] and his father conducting firearms training in a countryside location, suspected to be in NSW,” court documents state, as per SBS. “The accused and his father are seen throughout the video firing shotguns and moving in a tactical manner.” They are said to be firing shotguns and moving in a tactical manner.

The documents say that the police found “a number of relevant videos” on Naveed’s phone that show the pair allegedly “adhered to a religiously motivated violent extremism ideology”.

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A video also purportedly shows both men sitting in front of an Islamic State flag with firearms resting behind them. Naveed is “recorded appearing to recite, in Arabic, a passage from the Quran”, as per court documents. “Both the accused and [his father] speak in English and make a number of statements regarding their motivation for the Bondi attack and condemning the acts of ‘Zionists’.”

The two men also visited Bondi Beach for reconnaissance just two days prior to the shooting. CCTV footage has purportedly captured the gunmen driving near Archer Park, which is the scene of the crime. “The accused [Naveed] and his father, [Sajid], are seen to exit the vehicle and walk along the footbridge,” court documents say.

According to the court documents, their positions on the Campbell Parade footbridge are consistent with “where they attended two days later and shot at members of the public”.

“Police allege that this is evidence of reconnaissance and planning of a terrorist act,” the documents state.

Captured on CCTV, threw IEDs that didn’t detonate

On the day of the attack, Sajid and Naveed were leaving their rented accommodation in Sydney for Bondi Beach. They were “carrying long and bulky items wrapped in blankets”, which they placed into their car, a silver Hyundai, around 2 pm. According to the court documents, these items comprised two single-barrel shotguns, a Beretta rifle, four improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and two IS flags.

Police say the men left their apartment shortly after 5 pm. They arrived at Bondi Beach around 6:50 pm, parked near the footbridge and placed the flags on the inside of the front and rear windows of the vehicle. These flags, which are banned under federal law, were clearly visible to members of the public, as per the documents.

According to the court documents, Naveed and Sajid, at the beginning of the attack, threw the four improvised explosive devices (IEDs). This included three pipe bombs and a “tennis ball bomb” – all of which failed to detonate.

The pipe bombs were created via “sealed aluminium piping containing explosive, black powder and steel ball bearings”, as per the documents. Police said that although the bombs did not detonate, they were “viable”. The men then picked up the firearms and began strafing the public with ammunition.

According to the court documents, Naveed’s mother believed that the pair were holidaying in New South Wales.

“The mother recalled that while he was away, the accused would call her each morning from a payphone … and would discuss what he planned to do that day,” police allege in the document.

Naveed has been charged with nearly five dozen offences, including 15 counts of murder and one of terror. He was released from hospital today (December 22) and transferred to police custody.

The case is now set to be heard in February.

The development comes a day after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was booed by sections of a crowd of tens of thousands of people at an event to remember the Bondi Beach victims.

“The government will work every day to protect Jewish Australians, to protect the fundamental right as Australians that they have to be proud of who they are, to practise their faith, to educate their children and to engage in Australian society in the fullest way possible,” Albanese said.

Some have claimed that Australia has been witnessing a rising tide of anti-Semitism and that such an attack was only a matter of time.

With inputs from agencies