Bondi Beach shooting: Inside hotel where alleged gunmen stayed during trip being investigated by police
The Bondi terror attack suspects spent their entire four-week visit to the Philippines in Davao City and rarely left their hotel for more than about an hour at a time, according to a member of staff.
Hotel worker Jenelyn Sayson told Sky News she was on duty at GV Hotel when Naveed and Sajid Akram checked in on 1 November.
Ms Sayson said they initially booked a seven-night stay online, but on 8 November, the pair told hotel staff they would extend their stay for another week and paid in cash.
The father and son continued to extend their stay before finally checking out on 28 November.
The mass shooting at a Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach happened just over two weeks later, on 14 December.
The hotel has been part of an investigation into the shooting
Sajid, 50, entered the country on an Indian passport and his son, 24, on an Australian passport.
During their stay, Ms Sayson noted the two mostly remained inside their room – a small, sparse space, with two single beds and a TV.
“Their daily routine consisted of in and out of the hotel, with the longest time spent outside being about one hour,” she said.
“Based on our observations, they did not travel outside Davao and were seen here in the hotel every day.”
Naveed Akram has been charged with 59 counts, including 15 of murder and one of terror, in Australia. His father was shot dead by police during the attack.
The alleged gunmen’s hotel room
The receptionist said Philippine police from Task Force Davao visited the hotel on Wednesday afternoon and asked about an Indian national who may have stayed there.
They showed her a photo, which she immediately identified as one of the two guests.
The authorities also requested CCTV footage, she said, but the recordings from November had already been automatically deleted.
Gunmen ‘must never have had love’
What are police investigating?
Police Major Catherine Dela Rey, spokesperson for the Police Regional Office 11 (PRO-11), confirmed a multi-agency investigation is ongoing to verify the movements of the two suspects.
“The investigation will determine whether they indeed arrived in Davao, where they stayed, and who they may have met, or whether they only passed through the city or stayed elsewhere,” she said.
Despite the link to an overseas terror-related incident, the police major assured the public the Davao region remains peaceful.
“We have maintained this status throughout the year,” she added.
Bondi church where people took shelter
What is the Philippines’ link to terrorism?
Terrorism in the Philippines has declined in recent years.
But many Islamic militant groups remain active and armed in more remote regions, with some willing to train foreign fighters who have long flocked to the Southeast Asian nation.
Davao City sits in Mindanao, an island which has historically been fertile ground for Islamic jihadists.
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Authorities have not yet confirmed whether the alleged Bondi gunmen travelled outside of Davao City.
A military source previously told Sky News the men may have visited Marawi, Lanao del Sur.
Exactly what they did and who they met in the Philippines is now the focus of an expanding police investigation in the Philippines and Australia.
Funeral held for 10-year-old victim
It comes as funerals for the 15 victims continue to take place, including for a 10-year-old girl named Matilda.
The youngest person to be killed in the shooting, yellow toy bees topped her coffin as mourners remembered a “ray of sunshine” who loved animals and dancing.
A photo of Matilda. Pic: Reuters
Her middle name was Bee, which inspired attendees to wear bee stickers, and bee-themed toys and balloons, while some mourners wore yellow.
Rabbi Yehoram Ulman said: “The tragic, so totally cruel, unfathomable murder of young Matilda is something to all of us as if our own daughter was taken from us.”
