Bondi Beach shooter visited gun shop in Philippines ahead of attack, police reveal

Police in Davao City, Philippines, said that Sajid Akram, one of the suspects of the Bondi Beach terror attack, visited a firearm shop during their month-long stay in November 2025. The police are retracing the movements of the pair, saying that the two suspect, Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram, stayed in a small room in the GV Hotel for 28 days.

"What we've seen is one of them visiting a gun shop," said the police. “The father has shown interest in firearms. He entered a firearms shop.”

“We are also determining their activities, their support networks. We are investigating and gathering intelligence information,” said police investigator Victor Rosette.

Police are also investigating their mobile number and their contacts during their stay. They are also trying to explore the CCTV footage in the region; however, this seems like a daunting task, as the hotel staff said there is a practice of overriding CCTV footage after a week. However, the authorities believe that it was not possible for them to leave the city for training.

“One thing is sure: that they just stayed in Davao for the duration of their visit. Likewise, they did not visit any firing range in Davao,” said National Security Adviser Eduardo Año," They would go out and come back after two or three hours, the longest was eight hours, but still ... that time window (would) not suffice for them to get out of Davao."

According to reports from the Guradian, the pair have at first booked the hotel for seven days, and the two arrived carrying one piece of luggage. But after arriving, they have extended the stay till November 28.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr have criticised media reports for portraying the Philippines as a “hotspot for terrorism”. In a televised speech on Friday, to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the country's armed forces, he said, "For years, we have acted decisively to dismantle terrorist networks, to secure communities, and to sustain our hard-earned peace." He further added that these speculations are damaging the reputation of the country.