Bondi Beach gunman recognized as Naveed Akram

One of the gunmen who opened fire on innocent people on a hot summer’s day at Sydney’s Bondi Beach has been identified.

Police have confirmed the man was Naveed Akram, 24, from Bonnyrigg in Sydney’s south-west.

Akram’s home in Bonnyrigg is currently being raided by police. His family have owned the property for a year.

Akram was shot, arrested and remains in custody, where he is being treated by emergency services. 

The other gunman was shot dead at the scene. 

Ten people have died, including children and at least 17 injured after the horrific attack. 

A Jewish festival, Chanukah by the Sea, advertised as a night of family fun, was taking place, with children attending the event when the gunmen opened fire.

Witnesses said two men stepped out of a vehicle on Campbell Parade, near Bondi Pavilion, and opened fire about 6.40pm on Sunday with footage showing blast after blast on the tourist strip. Some witnesses reported more than 30 shots.

The firearms appeared to be semi-automatic, with magazines seen scattered on the ground.

Police are examining a suspected IED bomb at the scene, with unverified reports suggesting it was placed under a pedestrian bridge.

Video obtained by the Daily Mail shows a heroic man creeping up behind one of the gunmen via the carpark at the north end of the beach, and then wrestling him to the ground.

The hero then waves a rifle in the man’s face.

The gunman then walks away and the hero drops the rifle.

A witness told Daily Mail: ‘These men pulled over their car put a black flag with an emblem on the windshield then walked over the footbridge and started firing.’

Tim Hamilton was with friends in North Bondi when he thought he heard a car backfiring but ‘more violent than that, like a little bit louder’.

‘I stood up and looked over and then I just saw people on the beach running really fast away from that area, like the Bondi Pavilion but the north side of it,’ he told Daily Mail.

He added that people were hiding behind the concrete wall and running into the ocean to try and stay clear of the shooters.

Tim said he did not receive an emergency alert on his phone following the incident.

‘When we were walking home, we saw this guy who was up at Speedo Cafe, which is kind of near the North Bondi grass, and he was on the pavement bleeding.

‘That was quite far away from where the shooters were. So I think one of the bullets must have travelled quite far. There were people helping him.’

The beach was crowded with hundreds of tourists and locals at the end of a 30C summer day.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the situation in Bondi was ‘shocking and distressing’.

‘My thoughts are with every person affected,’ he said.

Heather Nolan, was having dinner at the North Bondi RSL ‘when we heard pop pop pop pop pop pop pop’.

‘It was still light outside, so it seemed odd to have the firecrackers,’ Nolan told the ABC. ‘And then I saw people sprinting from the beach.’

She and her family hid behind a wooden bench before heading into a changing room after a door was opened.

‘We felt … like we were safe in there. But there were people crying, people who were trying to locate loved ones who they weren’t connected with,’ she said. ‘Some people had just fled from the beach and hadn’t taken phones with them and [were] disconnected from their friends and family.’

Daniel, who is visiting Australia from Brazil, said he saw the two shooters on the bridge before about five police cars arrived. 

He and a friend hid while the shots were fired and then they started to run.

“A lot of people on the sand, on the ground, were trying to scream help,” he told ABC News.

“A lot of people on the floor, kids crying, looking for their mum.”

He said it was hard to believe something like this could happen in Australia.

“After today, I don’t feel safe anymore.”