Australia will hold a day of reflection one week after the Bondi Beach mass shooting, with the PM urging the nation to reject hatred and violence.
SYDNEY: Australia will hold a national day of reflection one week after the Bondi Beach mass shooting, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
Albanese urged Australians to light candles at 6:47 pm on Sunday, exactly one week since the attack unfolded.
“It is a moment to pause, reflect, and affirm that hatred and violence will never define who we are as Australians,” he told reporters.
Sajid Akram and his son Naveed are accused of killing 15 people in an antisemitic attack, Australia’s worst mass shooting in nearly three decades.
The prime minister has vowed to toughen gun laws that allowed Sajid Akram to own six long-barrelled firearms.
“There is something wrong with the licensing laws when this guy can have six high-powered rifles,” Albanese said.
A sweeping gun buyback scheme will soon be rolled out to reduce private armouries of newly banned firearms.
Hundreds plunged into the ocean off Bondi Beach on Friday in a separate gesture to honour the dead.
Swimmers and surfers paddled into a circle, splashing water and roaring with emotion.
“They slaughtered innocent victims, and today I’m swimming out there and being part of my community again to bring back the light,” security consultant Jason Carr said.
Also on Friday, a married couple killed while trying to stop the gunmen were laid to rest at a Jewish funeral home.
Bondi locals Boris and Sofia Gurman were among the first killed as they tried to wrestle Sajid to the ground.
Sydney remains on high alert almost a week after the shootings.
Armed police swooped on two carloads of men on Thursday after a tip they may be plotting a “violent act”.
Police stated they had not identified any connection to the ongoing Bondi terror investigation.
Albanese has promised a sweeping crackdown to banish the “evil of antisemitism from our society”.
This includes new powers to target extremist preachers and to refuse visas for those who spread hate.
Sajid Akram, 50, was killed in a gunfight with police, but his 24-year-old son Naveed survived.
Naveed Akram has been charged with 15 counts of murder, an act of terrorism, and dozens of other serious crimes.
Authorities believe the pair drew inspiration from the Islamic State group.
Police are investigating whether they met with Islamist extremists during a visit to the Philippines weeks before the shooting. – AFP
