TEHRAN – The violent attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on December 14, which tragically claimed 16 lives, has been compounded by a dangerous wave of online misinformation, placing an innocent Pakistani-origin resident in fear for his life.

Australian authorities, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, declared the mass shooting a terrorist act, identifying the alleged assailants as father and son, Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24. The father and son duo suspected of carrying out the massacre were “driven by Islamic state ideology,” the Australian authorities said. It is a reference to the ISIL terror group also known as ISIS and Daesh. 

While the father reportedly entered Australia as an Indian national, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke stated that the younger suspect, Naveed Akram, is an Australian-born citizen, clarifying that he is not a Pakistani national.

This official clarification followed statements from the Pakistani Government, which had unequivocally condemned the heinous crime against humanity and asserted that the attacker was not Pakistani.

Despite the details released by the government, rapid online misinformation led to photos of a different Sydney resident—also named Naveed Akram, son of Muhammad Akram, a Pakistani migrant—being widely circulated as the shooter's image.

His pictures, pulled from his Facebook profile, spread rapidly across social media and some outlets due to the shared name, triggering threats and forcing him into hiding.

In a video released by the Pakistan Consulate General in Sydney, the misidentified man addressed the public directly: “I'm right now... I'm in kind of like [sic] dual trauma.” He explained that the viral photos were “putting my life at risk,” adding, “I'm gonna [sic] clearly tell everyone that that is not me and I have nothing to do with that incident or with that person.”

Describing intense stress and fear that prevented him from leaving home, he urged users to stop sharing his image, warning that the situation “can turn very dangerously against me.”