Get you up to speed: Australia detains Bondi Beach massacre suspect Naveed Akram as trial awaits
Naveed Akram, the prime suspect in the Bondi Beach massacre, is accused of several counts of murder and committing a terrorist attack. The second suspected gunman was Sajid Akram, who was shot and killed at the scene by police.
Naveed Akram, the prime suspect in the Bondi Beach massacre, has been accused of multiple counts of murder and terror-related offences following the attack on December 14, 2025, which resulted in the deaths of 16 people, including a 10-year-old girl and Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman. According to the Australian Daily Telegraph, Akram has received at least one letter from a female prisoner while detained in a high-security unit at Goulburn prison.
Naveed Akram is currently detained in the high-security unit at Goulburn prison, 124 miles outside of Sydney, where he is reportedly corresponding with a female prisoner. Australia continues to grieve the victims of the Bondi Beach massacre, with a national day of mourning observed in January.
Alleged Bondi Beach attacker is ‘speaking to a female pen pal’ in prison | News World
An image shown in court shows Naveed Akram allegedly exiting a rental apartment on the day of the mass shooting in Bondi Beach (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)
The Bondi Beach massacre suspect Naveed Akram is said to be corresponding with a woman while awaiting trial behind bars.
He is the prime suspect in the terror attack at a Bondi Beach Hanukkah event in December,
Two gunmen opened fire at the crowds near the famous Sydney beach, killing 16 people, including a 10-year-old girl and a Holocaust survivour.
Akram, 24, is accused of several counts of murder and committing a terrorist attack along with a host of other offences.
The second suspected gunman, Akram’s dad Sajid, 50, was shot and killed at the scene by police.
A sea of candles and flowers were left in tribute to the Bondi Beach massacre victims (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)
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The 24-year-old has been detained in the high-security unit at the Goulburn prison 124 miles outside of Sydney.
He has received at least one letter from a female prisoner, who is locked up in a women’s jail, according to the Australian Daily Telegraph.
Prison sources are said to be joking about Akram having a ‘pen pal.’
A source suggested the tone of the letter was not romantic.
New South Wales Corrective Services does not comment on individual inmates.
Family members of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who grew up in London, mourned his death in the Bondi Beach terror attack (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)
Prisoners are allowed to receive and send letters, including with other inmates, although content cannot be abusive, offensive, threatening or indecent.
Akram, from Bonnyrigg in Sydney, is believed to have told his mum, Verena, he was on a fishing trip with his dad in the hours before the tragedy on December 14.
Ms Akram was reportedly not able to identify her son from a photo from the scene.
She continued: ‘He doesn’t have a firearm. He doesn’t even go out. He doesn’t mix around with friends. He doesn’t drink, he doesn’t smoke, he doesn’t go to bad places.
‘He goes to work, he comes home, he goes to exercise, and that’s it.’
Australia is still coming to terms with the massacre, with a national day of mourning observed in January with a sea of candles of those killed.
Among the victims was Rabbi Eli Schlander, a key organiser of the Hanukkah event, who grew up in north London.
Another victim was a granddad and Holocaust survivour Alex Kleytman, who was shot as he shielded his wife during the gunfire
He and his wife Larisa both survived the genocide unleashed by the Nazis, with Alex living in ‘dreadful conditions’ in Siberia.
The pair moved to Australia from Ukraine and were married for 57 years.
The youngest victim of the shooting was Matilda, 10, whose family described her as a girl who spread happiness everywhere she went.
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