New details have emerged in the deadly shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, revealing that one of the attackers had links to India, dismissing claims by foreign media that sought to connect the incident to Pakistan.

According to people who knew the attackers, Sajid Akram — identified as the father of 24-year-old Naveed Akram — was of Indian origin, while Naveed’s mother is an Italian national.

A man who had worked with Naveed said reports of the pair being involved in the attack had come as a shock, adding that there had never been any indication that the pair could carry out such an attack.

“We could never have imagined something like this,” the man said, adding that the attackers were known to legally possess firearms licences.

Foreign media reports identified the attackers as Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram.

Sources said that Sajid Akram arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa, which was later converted into a partner visa after he married in 2001.

Following the attack, some Israeli and Indian media outlets and social media accounts attempted to link the incident to Pakistan.

An Israeli newspaper and several social media accounts linked to India’s intelligence agency RAW described the attackers as Pakistani.

Pakistani officials in Australia rejected those claims, saying there was no information from the Pakistani community or authorities to suggest the attackers were Pakistani nationals.

The sources also dismissed reports that Sajid Akram had travelled to Australia on a tourist visa, calling them false.

Australian authorities, in their briefings so far, have made no reference to Pakistan.

However, some Western media outlets claimed that US intelligence had confirmed Pakistani links, a claim that has not been supported by official Australian statements.

Australian police said the deceased attacker had legally held a firearms licence since 2015 and had six registered weapons, all of which were taken into custody following the incident.

Security officials also said the injured attacker had previously been known to authorities but was not considered an immediate threat at the time.