'I just went for a swim. Now, we are going to eat' — What Bondi Beach attacker Naveed Akram said to his mom before shooting

Naveed Akram, the 24-year-old man identified of carrying out a deadly shooting at a Jewish Hanukkah gathering at Sydney’s Bondi Beach alongside his father, Sajid Akhtar, has been portrayed by his mother as a quiet and well-behaved individual. Family members were reportedly told that the father and son were heading out on a fishing trip to Australia’s South Coast. Naveed’s mother, Verena, said that she had spoken to her son just hours before the attack unfolded on Sunday (December 14).

She recalled that Naveed called her earlier in the day, saying he had gone swimming and scuba diving, and was planning to eat and return home due to the heat. During the conversation, he mentioned that he was in Jervis Bay with his father. Expressing disbelief over the allegations, Verena said she could not accept that her son was capable of violence or had any links to extremist behaviour.

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She insisted that Naveed did not own a weapon and led a highly disciplined lifestyle. “He keeps to himself, doesn’t drink or smoke, and doesn’t get into trouble,” she was quoted as saying to The Sydney Morning Herald. “He goes to work, comes home, exercises, and that’s it. Any parent would be proud to have a son like him," she further added.

Authorities have confirmed that at least 16 people were killed and more than 40 others injured in the shooting that occurred during the Jewish festival celebrations at Bondi Beach. In a statement issued early on Monday (December 15), New South Wales Police said dozens of victims are hospitalised. Officials have not yet clarified whether the death toll includes one of the alleged attackers, who was also killed during the incident.