Australian authorities have charged 24-year-old Naveed Akram with 59 offenses in connection with the Bondi Beach massacre that occurred on Sunday, including 15 counts of murder. Akram regained consciousness from a coma yesterday after sustaining severe injuries during a shootout with police, which resulted in the death of his 50-year-old father, Sajid Akram. Police suspect the father and son of killing 15 people and injuring dozens of others after they used high-powered firearms to attack a crowd of Jewish families during a "Hanukah by the Sea" event. On Sunday evening, New South Wales Police Commissioner Michael Fuller announced that the mass shooting is being treated as a terrorist attack. Today, authorities charged Naveed Akram with 15 counts of murder, one count of committing a terrorist act, and numerous counts of attempted murder, as well as charges related to terrorist symbols and firearms and explosives offenses. In the days following Australia's worst terrorist attack, details emerged about the alleged ties of the father and son to extremist groups, including Naveed's involvement with a proselytizing group active in western Sydney and connections to individuals loyal to the "Islamic State" (ISIS) group. Fuller stated yesterday that two homemade ISIS flags and incendiary devices were found in a silver Hyundai sedan used by the father and son to travel to Bondi. Police are also investigating a trip the two men made to the Philippines in the weeks leading up to the massacre and how Sajid Akram was able to legally acquire high-powered firearms despite his son's alleged extremist ties.
