The surviving suspect in the mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney was charged on Wednesday with murder, terrorism and causing grievous bodily harm with intent to murder, the police said.
The shooting at a beachside Hanukkah celebration on Sunday left 15 people dead, including a 10-year-old girl and a Holocaust survivor who was a grandfather of 11. Two gunmen, who the police said were father and son, were shot by officers; one died at the scene, and the other was taken to a hospital. The authorities said the men appeared to have been motivated by Islamic State-inspired antisemitism.
The younger suspect, 24, had been in a coma until Tuesday afternoon, according to Mal Lanyon, the police commissioner for the state of New South Wales. He remains hospitalized under police guard, according to the police. He had a bail hearing through a video link and no bail was requested, according to a charge sheet from the court.
The man also faces charges of displaying a symbol of a terrorist organization and placing explosives with the intent to cause harm. Officials previously said that two black Islamic State flags and improvised explosive devices had been found in the vehicle that the gunmen drove to the site of the shooting.
The police have not officially released the suspects’ names, but Australian news outlets have widely reported the men to be Sajid Akram, 50, and his 24-year-old son, Naveed Akram.
The charges were announced as the first funerals for the victims of the shooting, Australia’s worst mass killing in three decades, began on Wednesday.
Throngs of mourners gathered for the funeral of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, one of the main organizers of the beachside event that became a scene of carnage after two gunmen opened fire with multiple long guns.
Two other funerals were scheduled Wednesday for other members of Bondi’s tight-knit Jewish community.
Dozens of other people were injured in the shooting, 20 of whom were still hospitalized as of Wednesday. Two police officers who responded to the attack were among the wounded, including a 22-year-old probationary officer who was just four months into the job, and who lost his vision in one eye, according to the New South Wales police.
As streams of mourners continued to visit the site of the shooting on Wednesday to pay their respects, some leveled harsh criticism at the government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, accusing him of not doing enough in response to warnings that dangerous antisemitism was on the rise in the country.
Josh Frydenberg, a former treasurer with the conservative Liberal Party, said Mr. Albanese should personally take responsibility for the deaths. “We as a Jewish community have been abandoned and left alone by our government,” he said.
Mr. Albanese has defended his record, noting that his government appointed Australia’s first antisemitism envoy and passed legislation to criminalize hate speech, and that he has condemned the apparent antisemitic motivations behind the attack.
“This was ISIS-inspired extremist ideology leading to a terrorist act that has resulted in tragic consequences for the Jewish community in Sydney with an attack taking place at an iconic destination,” he said on Wednesday. “I have made that front and center.”
Australian officials said on Wednesday that in addition to strengthening gun laws, they would take steps to bar mass demonstrations in situations following a terrorist attack. The measure appeared to be aimed at restricting large rallies like one in August in which demonstrators supporting Palestinians in Gaza took over the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales, said he was proposing legislation that would enable police to reject an application for a protest on the grounds that it would stretch resources.
“Protests right now in Sydney would be incredibly terrible for our community. In fact, that would rip apart our community, particularly protests about international events,” he said.
Victoria Kim is the Australia correspondent for The New York Times, based in Sydney, covering Australia, New Zealand and the broader Pacific region.
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