Questions are being raised about the police response to the Bondi terrorist attack after footage showed a police car driving past the gunmen early in their rampage.
Video of father-and-son Islamic terrorists Naveed and Sajid Akram, 24 and 50, shows the police van with sirens on passing a bridge where the gunmen were standing and firing dozens of shots at attendees at a Jewish Chanukah by the Sea event on Sunday evening.
The massacre continued for another six minutes after the police drove past, and an eyewitness said four police officers failed to return fire while the terrorists shot members of the crowd, while photos have emerged of female cops appearing to have their hands up.
Police are facing criticism over their response to the Bondi terrorist attack after video showed them driving past the gunmen and hiding.
An eyewitness said he saw four cops “freeze” and fail to return fire during the massacre. pic.twitter.com/Rugc4Km7ZE
— The Noticer (@NoticerNews) December 15, 2025
Witness account from Bondi Beach tonight pic.twitter.com/9FAGmKXPSH
— Ashlee Mullany (@AshleeMullany) December 14, 2025
*People report that the police “froze” when they saw the terrorists at Bondi
*Checks pictures of the scene
*Women cops pic.twitter.com/YTrXYv6Py3— Kaguya’s Top Gal (@hayasaka_aryan) December 14, 2025
“There was four police, nobody give fire back, nothing like that, froze, it looked like 20 minutes,” the man said.
“Four policemen didn’t give fire back, I don’t understand why, why?”
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon defended his officers along with Premier Chris Minns on Monday morning, and told reporters asking about the police response not to “run down the police at this early hour”.
“I’m not going to speculate on that right now. There’s two NSW Police officers in critical condition in NSW hospitals who stepped into the breach and could have lost their lives last night,” Mr Minns said.
“I’m not going to go into the circumstances of police officers that returned fire, but I can tell you their bravery, their courage in these circumstances saved countless lives and I would urge everyone not to jump to conclusions.”
So far 16 people have been confirmed dead, including Sajid Akram, with another 40 wounded.
Naveed Akram, who was investigated by ASIO for links to an Sydney-based Islamic State cell in 2019, is in a critical condition in hospital under police guard.
Header image: Left, a police car drives past the scene. Right, an eyewitness described the police response (7News).
