Naveed’s mother, Verena Akram, spoke to the media outside her home in Bonnyrigg, saying she last spoke to her son just hours before the attack on Sunday. According to her, Naveed told her he was in Jervis Bay.
The mother of 24-year-old Naveed Akram, one of the accused in the deadly Bondi Beach terror attack, has said she cannot believe her son was involved in violence. Speaking to reporters on Monday, she described him as a quiet and disciplined person who mostly stayed at home and did not mix with the wrong crowd.
Naveed’s mother, Verena Akram, spoke to the media outside her home in Bonnyrigg, saying she last spoke to her son just hours before the attack on Sunday. According to her, Naveed told her he was in Jervis Bay with his father and was there for a short break.
“He rang me and said, ‘Mum, I just went for a swim. I went scuba diving. We’re going to eat now, and we’ll stay indoors because it’s very hot,’” she said, as quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald. The father-son duo had earlier told their family that they were going on a fishing trip to Australia’s South Coast.
Mother says son was unemployed, lived a simple life
Verena Akram said her son was unemployed and lived a very simple and routine life. She strongly denied any possibility of him being involved in extremist or violent activity.
“He doesn’t have a firearm. He doesn’t even go out much. He doesn’t drink, he doesn’t smoke, he doesn’t go to bad places,” she said. “He goes to work, comes home, goes to exercise that’s it. Anyone would wish to have a son like my son. He’s a good boy,” she added.
The Bondi beach attack
The attack took place during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, where 15 people were killed. Naveed Akram was arrested at the scene, while his father, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, was shot dead by Australian police during a confrontation, taking the total death toll to 16.
Australian authorities said most of the victims died due to the sudden and violent nature of the attack. According to reports, Naveed Akram is a Pakistani national..
Australian PM calls attack ‘pure evil’
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese strongly condemned the shooting, calling it an act of “pure evil”, antisemitism, and terrorism. “What we saw yesterday was an act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism and an act of terrorism on our shores,” Albanese said.