Bondi Beach gunman Naveed Akram landed on the radar of counter-terrorism authorities in 2019 after preaching with a group linked to a religious centre once tied to an Islamic State cell, which investigators are now examining as the primary cause of his radicalisation.
Naveed, 24, and his father Sajid, 50, killed 15 people and injured dozens more when they used high-powered firearms to attack a crowd of Jewish families on Bondi Beach on Sunday.
Naveed Akram has been identified as one of the alleged gunmen.Credit: Lochie Knight/Instagram
Sajid was killed when police returned fire, while Naveed remains in a coma in hospital and is expected to survive.
Multiple sources briefed on the investigation into the massacre confirmed Naveed first came to the attention of authorities around the time a cell of IS acolytes was discovered in Sydney’s west.
Multiple young men were arrested including the self-appointed commander of IS in Australia, Isaac El Matari, who plotted to carry out a terror attack in Sydney’s CBD.
Sources say Naveed moved in similar circles as El Matari and the other men charged in the investigation, but was not deemed dangerous enough to warrant a criminal charge.
Sources say Naveed moved in similar circles Isaac el Matari, the self-appointed leader of IS in Australia.Credit: Facebook
Naveed was pictured preaching on the streets of Sydney with an outreach program, called the Dawah Van, which was affiliated with Al Madina Dawah in Bankstown since their arrests.
His street preaching, and his links to El Matari’s ISIS cell, landed him on ASIO’s radar, sources have told this masthead on the condition of anonymity.
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