Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced this Monday that his Government is considering “toughening laws” on gun ownership in the wake of the attack.
“The Government is prepared to take all necessary measures, including the need to tighten gun laws,” said Albanese, adding that, among the possible measures, a “limit on the number of weapons” per person and a “review of licenses” could be established.
One of the alleged perpetrators of Sunday’s attack on Bondi Beach had a weapons license.
“People’s circumstances change. People can become radicalized over time. Licenses [de porte de arma] cannot be perpetual”, said the head of the Australian Government.
Fourteen people – including one of the robbers – died at the scene of the crime and two others, namely a 10-year-old girl and a 40-year-old man, later died in hospital.
At least 42 people were injured, seven of whom remain in critical condition.
Australian authorities have confirmed that the alleged perpetrators of the terrorist attack are a 50-year-old man, who died after clashes with police, and his 24-year-old son, who remains hospitalized in police custody.
The police indicated that they are no longer looking for suspects and that the deceased had a license for large caliber weapons since 2015, had at least six weapons registered in his name, and belonged to a weapons club.
The alleged assailant “met the eligibility criteria for a firearms license”, Mal Lanyon, the commissioner of the Police of New South Wales, whose capital is Sydney, said at a previous press conference.
Albanese also confirmed that the hospitalized assailant was investigated in 2019 by Australia’s intelligence agency (ASIO), but at the time it was determined that he “did not pose a threat”, without providing further details.
The ABC news channel reported that the investigation looked into alleged links between this suspect and a cell of the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) in Sydney.
The head of the Australian Government classified the terrorist attack as an “act of pure evil” and “anti-Semitism”, and ordered the country’s flags to be lowered to half-mast.
With Lusa