Australia’s Bondi Beach shooting suspects identified as father and son

Australia’s Bondi Beach shooting suspects identified as father and son

Two suspected shooters accused of killing 15 people and dozens injured during a Hanukkah celebration in Australia have been identified as a father and son, authorities said Sunday.

The 50-year-old father was shot dead by police and the 24-year-old son is in hospital, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said at a news conference. At an earlier press conference, Australian police said they were looking for a potential third suspect, but Lanyon later confirmed this was no longer the case.

“I can say that we are not looking for another perpetrator,” he said.

The 24-year-old alleged attacker was identified as Naveed Akram, a Pakistani national, according to U.S. intelligence officials briefed on the investigation. CBS News also reviewed Akram’s New South Wales driver’s license.

The father’s name has not been released, but authorities said Sunday they have identified him as a licensed gun owner.

Lanyon said investigators recovered six of the suspect’s licensed firearms at the scene. He added that the older suspect has had a gun permit for about 10 years. Improvised explosive devices were also found in one of the suspects’ vehicles, police said.

“We will look at the motives behind this attack and I think this is important as part of the investigation,” Lanyon said.

More than a thousand people gathered on Bondi Beach in Sydney on Sunday. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the gunmen “deliberately attacked the Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah.”

At least 40 people were injured in the attack on the popular beach, including two police officers and three children, Australian officials said.

Also among the injured 43-year-old fruit seller Ahmed al Ahmedwho was shot after he confronted one of the gunmen and wrestled the weapon away, Agence France-Presse reported.

One video Posted on social media shows Al Ahmed jumping out from behind a parked car along Campbell Parade, a main street running parallel to Bondi Beach, tackling one of the suspects who had just fired his gun, and wrestling the weapon away.

President Trump said at a White House event on Sunday that Al Ahmed’s actions “saved many lives.”

Anna Schecter, Emily Mae Czachor, Archie Clarke and Sam Vinograd contributed to this report.

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