SYDNEY — A Sydney resident named Naveed Akram is “terrified” to leave his home after his photo, snapped in a green Pakistan cricket jersey—spread virally online as the gunman behind the deadly Bondi Beach shooting, sparking death threats and family anguish.
The December 14 attack saw a father-son duo unleash gunfire at a Jewish festival on Australia’s iconic beach, killing 15 including a child and injuring 42. Labeled terrorism by authorities, it left one shooter dead and the other hospitalized; ABC named a Bonnyrigg man as the suspect, prompting raids but no official confirmation.
Akram, 30, a Pakistan native and car rental business owner, posted a desperate video via the Pakistan Consulate on December 15. “That is not me. I have nothing to do with the incident,” he pleaded, urging users to report shares of his 2019 Facebook photo, now fueling vitriolic posts viewed thousands of times.
“I could not even sleep last night… it’s a life-threatening issue,” Akram told VAN by phone, his family in Punjab fielding worried calls amid the smear. Arriving in 2018 for studies at Central Queensland University and Holmes Institute, he praised Australia as “the perfect country” despite prior safety.
Australian media and officials have yet to address the misinformation, which erupted around 9:30pm on December 14, destroying Akram’s image overnight.