A man wrongly identified as one of the Bondi Beach terror attackers has said he is scared for his life.
Naveed Akram shares a name with the 24-year-old man who allegedly opened fire on a Hanukkah event in Australia on Sunday.
He and his father Sajid Akram, 50, allegedly killed 15 people and injured dozens more in the attack.
Police said they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the shootings.
A British-born Rabbi, Eli Schlanger 41, and a 10-year-old girl, named as Matilda, are among those killed.
This is Naveed Akram. A Pakistani living in Sydney. His identity is falsely being used by some media as being one of the Bondi beach gunmen- this is fake news. His life has now been put in danger. He needs our help. Please share.
— Bushra Shaikh (@Bushra1Shaikh) December 14, 2025
pic.twitter.com/JQGJqGkwW0
The 50-year-old man was shot and killed by armed police while his son remains in a critical condition in hospital.
Student Naveed Akram has made a plea online after being mistaken for the alleged shooter.
He said: “One of the shooter’s name is Naveed Akram and my name is Naveed Akram as well. Some of the social media accounts they have taken my pictures from my Facebook account and they are linking that picture to that that shooter.
“I am going to clearly tell everyone that that is not me and I have nothing to do with that incident or with that person. That is a different person and I am completely outside of this matter.”
Akram added that he was “very stressed and scared” and that the situation was “putting my life at risk”.
He also asked others not to spread misinformation related to him or share a picture of him wrongly identified as the shooter in a Facebook post.
Akram lives in Sydney and has no known connection to the terror attack or either suspect.
Sunday’s attack has been declared a terrorist incident which targeted Jews, Australian authorities have said.
In London, the Metropolitan Police said it is boosting its security around Jewish communities following the antisemitic terror attack in Australia.
While officers said there is no intelligence indicating an increased threat to the UK capital in the wake of the Sydney attack, they acknowledged there is a “significantly heightened level of concern about safety.”
Dozens of people gathered outside Australia House in central London on Sunday night for a vigil in memory of the victims. Attendees at the gathering, organised by Stop the Hate UK, waved Israeli and Union flags and held electric candles.
