Naveed Akram's mother said she couldn't believe he would carry out a terrorist attack.
Two militants who took part in Shooting at Bondi Beach were father and son, police determined.
Naveed Akram, 24, and his father, Sajid Akram, 50, have been identified as the attackers who opened fire during Hanukkah celebrations in Sydney. which killed 15 people.
A 50-year-old father who owned a fruit shop died after being shot by police. His son remains in hospital under police guard.
Their home in Bonnyrigg, 50km west of Bondi, was raided by police hours after the massacre. Worst terrorist attack in Australian history after the mass shooting in Port Arthur in 1996.
Speaking as officers surrounded their home, Navid's mother Verena said her son was a “good boy”.
Police searched the two suspects' home in Bonnyrigg, Sydney, on Sunday evening – JEREMY PIPER/EPA/Shutterstock
She told the Sydney Morning Herald: “He doesn't have a firearm. He doesn't even go out. He doesn't socialize 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, that's it.”
“Everyone would like to have a son like my son… he's a good boy.”
The father and son told their family they had gone fishing at the weekend in Jervis Bay, 200km south of Sydney.
Verena said she last spoke to Navid on Sunday morning, hours before the attack.
She said: “He calls me. [on Sunday] and said, “Mom, I just went swimming.” I went scuba diving. We’re going to… have lunch now and then this morning, but now we’re going to stay home because it’s very hot.”
Social media posts from an Islamic center in Australia indicate that Naveed completed his religious studies in 2022, raising questions about possible radicalization and extremist networks operating in the country.
Adam Ismail, head of the Al-Murad Islamic Institute, where Navid studied, declined to comment when contacted by The Telegraph.
Naveed was laid off from his job as a bricklayer when his company became insolvent and has been looking for work in recent weeks.
His mother said that when he was a teenager at Cabramatta High School he had many friends but was not particularly social, preferring to spend his time fishing, snorkeling and swimming.
Verena cares for her elderly mother and housewife Navid, his younger sister, 22, and brother, 20.
The suburb of Bonnyrigg has a large migrant population, including significant Chinese and Vietnamese communities.
Chaos erupted outside his home on Sunday evening as police arrived in the town.
The street was cordoned off, a helicopter circled over the house, and dozens of officers surrounded his home.
Residents pleaded to cross the cordon and return home, but were turned away as investigators tried to gather information about the mass killer.
After being told to move, the group of men became aggressive towards the officers, threatening the female officer and putting their hands on her handcuffs, the Daily Mail reported.
Photo: Sky News
The attack is being treated as an act of terrorism and is one of the deadliest acts of anti-Semitic violence in Australian history.
Video footage from the scene shows two men dressed in black firing rifles towards the beach from a bridge over a nearby car park at around 6.40pm on Sunday. There is a constant police presence at the scene, with teams of detectives moving in and out under guard as emergency vehicles arrive.
NSW Police Commissioner Mel Lanyon called for calm, saying investigators were working on multiple lines of inquiry.
Israeli authorities said they were looking into responsibility for the attack amid concerns it may have been carried out by a foreign state or paramilitary organizations. The shooting comes amid escalating tensions between Australia and Iran following a series of suspected Iranian attacks on Jewish targets in the country.
Australian officials have not publicly confirmed any foreign involvement. However, according to Israeli media reports, Israeli officials have named Iran as a prime suspect if a statesman was involved, and have also explored possible links to groups including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.
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A senior Israeli security official told Israel Hayom that in recent months, “Iran has stepped up activity to stage attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets around the world,” adding that investigators believe the “direction and infrastructure” of the Bondi Beach attack came from Tehran.
An Israeli intelligence source cited by the newspaper said activity by Iran and its allies had “increased markedly” in recent months. Another Israeli official said Australia was among the countries affected, noting that the Australian government had previously taken action against the Iranian embassy after specific intelligence warnings.
“There is no doubt that the direction and infrastructure of the attack originated from Tehran,” the official said.
Two suspects spotted on a bridge overlooking Bondi Beach.
Isaac Herzog, Israel's president, condemned the shooting as a “brutal attack on Jews.”
“At these very moments, our sisters and brothers in Sydney were attacked by vile terrorists,” he said. “We are completely shocked and grieving.”
Meanwhile, some supporters of the Iranian regime celebrated the attack on social media. One post called Naveed Akram “the most studious millennial to date.”
Iranian state media reported the shootings using derogatory language, and the Tasnim news agency described the victims in terms similar to those used during recent fighting between Israel and Iran.
Last month, Australia officially designated Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister expelled Iran's ambassador in August and suspended the Australian embassy in Tehran, accusing the Islamic Republic of recruiting criminals to carry out anti-Semitic attacks on Australian soil.
Paramedics and emergency services treat the wounded in the chaos following the mass shooting on Bondi Beach
Australian intelligence chief Mike Burgess said in August that Iran had “lit the match and fanned the flames” of anti-Semitism in Australia.
He said Tehran had carried out at least two arson attacks in the past year, including incidents targeting a synagogue in Melbourne and a Jewish restaurant in Sydney.
“Iran and its proxies are, through a series of loopholes, directing people in Australia to commit these crimes,” Mr Burgess said.
Lewis's Continental Kitchen, a kosher café in Bondi, was set on fire in October last year. In December, the Adassi Israel synagogue in Ripponlea, in Melbourne's south-east, was also attacked. No injuries were reported.
Mr Albanese said it was likely the Iranian government had staged further attacks on Jewish targets.
“These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression perpetrated by a foreign state on Australian soil,” he said. “These were attempts to undermine social cohesion and sow discord in our community.”
Photo: Instagram/mian.ores – X
The expulsion of Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi marked the most serious diplomatic crisis between Australia and Iran since the two countries established relations in 1968. Australia also ordered embassy staff to leave Iran and advised citizens to leave the country if possible.
Israel's Foreign Ministry has confirmed that an Israeli citizen was among those killed in the Bondi Beach attack.
Gideon Sa'ar, Israel's foreign minister, called on Canberra to act against what he called surge in anti-Semitism during a telephone conversation with his Australian colleague Penny Wong.
“There has been a surge in anti-Semitism in Australia since October 7,” he said, calling on the government to take stronger action against incitement to violence.
Iran's Foreign Ministry on Sunday condemned the “violent attack” in Sydney.
“We condemn the brutal attack in Sydney, Australia. Terror and murder of people, wherever they occur, is rejected and condemned,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Bakai said at X.
