The surviving gunman in Sydney’s Bondi Beach terror attack at a Jewish community event was charged Wednesday with 59 offenses, including 15 charges of murder, as Australian authorities were investigating the two perpetrators’ links to the Islamic State terror group.

Two terrorists slaughtered 15 people on Sunday in a mass shooting targeting Jews celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach, and nearly 20 other people are still being treated in hospitals.

As investigations unfold, Australia faces a social and political reckoning about antisemitism, gun control, and whether police protections for Jews at events such as Sunday’s were sufficient for the threats they faced.

Naveed Akram, 24, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said in a statement on Wednesday.

Barrett said the investigation into the massacre is continuing and sent words of reassurance to the Jewish community. She said there is “no ongoing threat.”

“It is hard not to be moved by the weight of grief that is hanging over Sydney,” she said. “It is a reminder of the cruel and hateful act perpetrated against the Jewish community. As AFP commissioner, I say to Jewish Australians, you do not and you should not share this grief alone.”

Akram was charged on Wednesday after waking from a coma in a Sydney hospital, where he has been since police shot him and his father at Bondi during the murderous attack. His father, Sajid Akram, 50, died at the scene.

The charges include one count of murder for each fatality and one count of committing a terrorist act, police said.

Akram was also charged with 40 counts of causing harm with intent to murder in relation to the wounded, and with placing an explosive near a building with intent to cause harm.

Police said the Akrams’ car, which was found at the crime scene,........

© The Times of Israel