Australia vowed stricter gun laws yesterday as it began mourning victims of its worst mass shooting in almost 30 years, in which police accused a father and son of killing 15 people at Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach.
The older gunman, aged 50, was killed at the scene, taking the tally of dead to 16, while his 24-year-old son was in a critical condition in hospital, police told a press conference. Police have not released the suspects’ names but national broadcaster ABC and other media have identifi ed them as Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram.
Two fl ags of militant group Islamic State were found in the gunmen’s vehicle, ABC News reported, without citing a source. The incident has raised questions about whether Australia’s gun laws, among the toughest in the world, need an overhaul, with police saying the older suspect had held a fi rearms licence since 2015, along with six registered weapons.
For between 10 and 20 minutes on Sunday evening, the gunmen had fi red on attendees at an event, gunning down men, women and children as terrifi ed beachgoers fl ed. The victims were aged between 10 and 87. The 40 people taken to hospital after the attack included two police offi cers who were in a serious but stable condition, police said. “
What we saw yesterday was an act of terrorism,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters after laying fl owers at Bondi Beach. Albanese said his cabinet had agreed to strengthen gun laws and work on a national fi rearms register to tackle aspects such as the number of weapons permitted by gun licences, and how long the latter are valid.