- Police secure CCTV on Bondi mass shooters in Davao City
AUTHORITIES are reviewing the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from a local hotel as the investigation intensifies into the alleged link between the two mass shooters of the Dec. 14 Bondi Beach mass shooting and local terrorists.
In a video statement released on Sunday, Dec. 21, Brigadier General Leon Victor Rosete, Police Regional Office XI director, confirmed that the two suspects arrived in Davao City last November and stayed at the GV Hotel for nearly a month.
“The Police Regional Office XI took note of the information given by the Australian counter-terrorism experts regarding the identified suspects who were allegedly linked to the Islamic State and reported to have traveled to the Philippines,” he said, confirming that “the two individuals were in Davao city and stayed in GV hotel for almost a month before leaving the area.”
“Upon confirmation, PRO XI immediately conducted backtracking operations to establish their movements during their stay,” he added.
Australian counter-terrorism experts claimed that the father-and-son duo, Sajid and Naveed Akram, trained in the Philippines before they went on a shooting spree on the Jewish community celebrating Hanukkah on Bondi Beach in Sydney.
The 50-year-old father was killed in a shootout, while the 24-year-old gunman was charged with 15 counts of murder, among others. He was critically injured but managed to survive.
Rosete said backtracking included the review of CCTV footage, hotel records, travel data, and other available intelligence operations.
“These efforts were carried out in close coordination with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), the National Bureau of Investigation, and other intelligence units, and concerned agencies,” Rosete said.
“PRO XI also examined activities they may have conducted during their stay, including identifying the individuals they interacted with and assessing possible links, or support networks,” he added.
“I assure the public that PRO XI remains steadfast in maintaining the peace and order of Davao Region,” the police director further said.
PRO XI spokesperson Major Catherine Dela Rey said that while no special investigation task group has been formed, there is a highly coordinated effort among various government and security agencies.
She said based on currently available intelligence, the suspects appeared to have remained within Davao City for the duration of their stay.
PHOTO CAPTION: Policemen guard a hotel in downtown Davao City on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, where the Bondi Beach shooters, according to hotel staff, stayed from Nov. 1 to 28, 2025. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO
