The Bondi Beach shooting appears to have been inspired by Islamic State ideology, Australia’s prime minister said

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday’s mass shooting at Bondi Beach appeared to be inspired by “Islamic State ideology”.

Speaking to ABC Sydney, Mr Albanese suggested an “ideology of hate” may have motivated the two gunmen to kill 15 people on Sunday, the Jewish religious holiday of Hanukkah.

“It appears that it was inspired by Islamic State ideology,” he said, referring to the terror group. “More than a decade of ideology has led to this ideology of hatred, and in this case a willingness to engage in mass murder.”

He added that all the information the police have received so far indicates that the two gunmen acted alone.

His comments came after it was revealed that one of the gunmen involved in the shooting had previously been investigated for links to an Islamic State terror cell based in Sydney.

Naveed Akram, 24, was the subject of a six-month investigation by the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) in 2019 but was dismissed as a risk after “he was assessed to be of no continuing threat or threat to engage in violence”.

Mr Albanese said Akram was being investigated on the grounds that he was “associated with others” involved in suspected terrorist activities, two of whom were later jailed.

The 24-year-old, along with her family and acquaintances, was interviewed by ASIO but was “not viewed as a person of interest at the time”, the Australian leader said.

“Now, whether or not he became more radicalized after that, what the circumstances are, is a matter of further investigation.”

At least 15 people, including a 10-year-old girl, were killed when recently unemployed bricklayer and his shop owner father, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, opened fire on Sunday during the Jewish religious holiday of Hanukkah.

The pair are said to have pledged allegiance to IS at the time of the killings and flags associated with the group were found in their car.

However, Mr Albanese said there was no evidence that Akram was linked to a wider terrorist group, and said the payments acted alone. But they were clearly motivated by extremist ideology, the prime minister continued.

“There is no evidence of collusion, no evidence that these people were part of a cell,” the Australian leader told the country’s national broadcaster ABC.

The tragedy has prompted Australia to take another look at its gun laws. A meeting of the country’s National Cabinet concluded that “strong, decisive and focused action was needed as an urgent measure to reform firearms laws” after confirming Sajid was a licensed firearms holder, possessing six registered firearms and a recreational category A/B licence.

The Cabinet has committed to a number of actions, including using criminal intelligence in licensing, restricting gun ownership and certain types of firearms and requiring Australian citizenship for licences.

Several victims were named after the shooting, including Matilda, a “bright” and “joyful” 10-year-old girl, a 41-year-old British rabbi, Eli Schlanger, and Holocaust survivor Alex Kleitman.

At least 27 people continue to be treated in hospital, six of them in critical condition. Among the injured were two police officers, one of whom was identified as Constable Scott Dyson, who suffered serious injuries but was said to be in a stable condition.

More than $1.7 million (£844,000) has been raised for a “hero” fruit shop owner who was seen wrestling a man to the ground before wrestling his rifle away.

Father-of-two Ahmed Al Ahmed, 43, told his cousin he “went down to save people’s lives” after lying in ambush before attacking the man.

He asked Joze Alcanz to send a message to the family after he was shot dead. “I’m going to die – please look after my family [and tell them] That I went down to save people’s lives”, he said.

Mr Ahmed was shot in the arm and hand and is said to be in “good spirits”.

His father, Mohammed Fateh Al-Ahmad, said: “My son is a hero, he served in the police and the Central Security Force, and he has a passion to protect the public.

“When he saw men lying on the ground, and saw blood everywhere, immediately his conscience and his spirit compelled him to strike one of the terrorists and make him take away his weapon.

“I feel proud and honoured, because my son is an Australian hero.”

Sajid died on the spot due to the bullet, while Naveed was seriously injured and was taken to the hospital under police supervision. He is expected to survive and potentially face criminal charges.

Sir Keir Starmer reassured the Jewish community in the UK that the incident was a “terrible anti-Semitic attack”.

“This is clearly not an isolated incident,” he told the parliamentary liaison committee on Monday. “I want to reassure our Jewish communities here in the United Kingdom that we will take every step possible, [and] Use all our powers to ensure that they are safe and secure in the United Kingdom.”