Bondi Terror Suspect Wakes up From Coma in Stable Condition, to Be Questioned by Police

Police expect to interview Naveed Akram after he regained consciousness in hospital, with the prime minister expecting imminent charges.

Police tape cordons part of the scene of a mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, on Dec. 14, 2025. Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

Police expect to formally question the surviving suspect in the Bondi Beach terror attack on Dec. 17, as investigators move closer to laying charges following his recovery in hospital.

Naveed Akram, 24, has been under police guard since the Dec. 14 shooting at a Hanukkah celebration that killed 15 people. His father, Sajid Akram, was shot dead on scene by police.

New South Wales (NSW) Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said Naveed Akram had been in a coma until Dec. 16 afternoon and was only now well enough to be interviewed.

“We expect to speak to him today,” Lanyon told radio station 2GB.

“I think it’s important we will [have] the opportunity to speak to him first in the presence of a legal advisor before I announce what it may look like.”

Prime Minister Expects Charges

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he expected police to formally charge Akram within hours.

“He will be charged formally, if he hasn’t been so already, I would expect that will take place over the coming hours,” the prime minister said on the Mamamia podcast.

Albanese said authorities were continuing to investigate the backgrounds of the alleged shooters, including their recent overseas travel.

Addressing the motive behind the attack, the prime minister said investigators had uncovered clear ideological indicators.

“The evidence is that they were motivated by the sort of ideology of the Islamic State, that there were flags present in the back of their vehicle that they drove to Bondi in order to cause harm,” he said.

“This is a perverse ideology, a terrorist ideology that does not respect human life, and that is anti-Semitic in character, but anti-humanity as well. And tragically, we’ve seen that play out at that iconic Australian venue of Bondi Beach,” he said.

ISIS Links Investigated

Investigators confirmed that two ISIS flags were found inside the vehicle used by the attackers at Bondi Beach. Police believe the father and son had sworn allegiance to the terrorist group.

Authorities are also examining overseas travel by the pair in the weeks before the attack.

According to the Philippine Bureau of Immigration, Naveed Akram and his father travelled to Davao City in the Mindanao region, where they stayed from Nov. 1 to Nov. 28.

Naveed Akram had links dating back to 2019 with members of Australia’s pro-ISIS network, including jihadist preacher Wisam Haddad and convicted terrorism youth recruiter Youssef Uweinat.

Investigators say those associations did not result in Akram being placed on a terrorism watchlist at the time, a decision that is now being reassessed as part of the broader counter-terrorism investigation.

Police say further details will be released once investigators have completed the hospital interview and assessed available evidence.