The shooting, carried out by a father and son duo, has been condemned as an act of terrorism
A Sydney man faced a terrifying ordeal after he was mistakenly identified as one of the gunmen in the deadly Bondi Beach shooting that killed 15 people and injured 42 during a Jewish festival on Sunday evening.
The man, 30-year-old Naveed Akram, lives in a northwestern suburb of Sydney. His photo, taken from a Facebook profile, was shared widely on social media with claims that he was the alleged shooter. The viral posts drew thousands of comments, many of them threatening.
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“Per media reports, one of the shooters’ name is Naveed Akram and my name is Naveed Akram as well. That is not me. I have nothing to do with the incident or that person,” Akram said in a video published by the Pakistan Consulate of Sydney. He added, “I just want everyone’s help to help me stop this propaganda,” asking people to report accounts misusing his photo.
🛑 MISIDENTIFIED: Innocent Man Falsely Accused as Bondi Beach Shooter Fears for Life
A Sydney man named Naveed Akram, 30, was wrongly identified on social media as one of the alleged Bondi Beach gunmen, forcing him to take measures to protect his safety.
The innocent rental… pic.twitter.com/WcIFiZqwo5
— True Crime Updates (@TrueCrimeUpdat) December 15, 2025
The misidentification left him terrified. “I could not even sleep last night. I’m terrified. I could not go outside, like it’s a life-threatening issue, so I don’t want to risk anything… my family is worried as well, so it’s quite a hard time for me,” he told AFP.
Akram, who moved to Australia in 2018 and now runs a car rental business, said the situation was affecting relatives in Pakistan’s Punjab province as well. “It was destroying my image, my family’s image. People started to call them. They were worried, and they have told the police over there,” he said.
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What went down at Bondi Beach?
A father and son opened fire on a gathering of people in what authorities officially labelled an antisemitic terrorist attack, killing at least 16 individuals. Amid the chaos, a bystander named Ahmed al Ahmed displayed remarkable courage by disarming and confronting one of the attackers, an action credited by officials with saving lives. Police shot and killed one of the assailants, while the other was taken into custody.
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