The Community Security Group (CSG), a Jewish security group in the Australian state of New South Wales, warned police of a possible terror attack just days before the Bondi Beach shooting in December. This follows from the preliminary investigation of the case, TASR informs, according to Thursday’s AFP report.
- The Jewish security group warned the police in time about a possible terrorist attack.
- On December 14th, a radicalized father and son shot fifteen people in Bondi.
- The attack during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah was apparently inspired by the Islamic State.
- Federal royal commission calls for stronger security measures at public Jewish celebrations.
- The Premier of New South Wales accepted political responsibility for the tragic incident.
The attack on Bondi Beach took place on December 14, when radicalized father Sajid Akram and his son Naveed killed 15 people during the celebration of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. The police shot and killed Sajid and wounded Naweed. According to the authorities, their attack was probably inspired by the terrorist organization Islamic State.
Australia’s Jewish community ‘was an obvious target of attack’ the Federal Royal Commission into the shooting stated in its preliminary report. The CSG alerted the police to possible threats in connection with the Hanukkah celebrations. She sent a warning email to the security forces less than a week before the attack. Police subsequently said they would send mobile patrols to the site to “control and monitor the event”.
The Federal Royal Commission, in its inquiry into the case, found that the police should consider strengthening security measures at public Jewish celebrations. Australia’s counter-terrorism capabilities “could also be improved,” she said.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, when asked whether the police had failed to monitor the Bondi Beach event, said that this matter falls under the jurisdiction of the New South Wales State Government. But he promised that his “government will do everything necessary to protect society in the wake of (this) attack.”
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said on Thursday that the state government “takes responsibility” for the incident. “If we had known what was going to happen, we would have sent the army there,” he noted.
