STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Here's an update on the attack on a Jewish celebration that marked the first night of Hanukkah at Sydney, Australia's Bondi Beach. Police have formally charged the surviving suspect. As you may recall, a second suspect was killed. And the first funerals have been held for 15 victims. Kristina Kukolja reports.
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UNIDENTIFIED MOURNER: (Singing in Hebrew).
KRISTINA KUKOLJA, HOST:
A prayer in Hebrew to say farewell to Rabbi Eli Schlanger. Mourners gathered at his local synagogue in Bondi under heavy police guard.
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YEHORAM ULMAN: It is unthinkable that we talk about you in the past tense.
KUKOLJA: Rabbi Yehoram Ulman described the death of his son-in-law as an unthinkable loss.
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ULMAN: In the community, he was there for everybody - a person who lived to 41 years and achieved what a person doesn't achieve in an age double to him.
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UNIDENTIFIED CHOIR: (Singing) This is my grief for you, for...
KUKOLJA: The night before, crowds returned again to Bondi Beach for a vigil honoring the victims of Sunday's attack. Those killed include a 10-year-old girl and an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor.
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UNIDENTIFIED CHOIR: (Singing) My love, my love, my love.
KUKOLJA: Police have now formally charged the surviving suspect, named earlier as Naveed Akram, after he woke up from a coma in hospital. He was charged by video link and was represented by a government-funded legal aid service. The 24-year-old is charged with 59 offenses, including one count of committing a terrorist act and 15 counts of murder. He also faces 40 counts of causing harm with intent to murder. Earlier, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said authorities were waiting for Akram's medical status to improve before moving forward with the charges.
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MAL LANYON: We're currently awaiting his medical condition to be appropriate for us to do that. It's important that he has appropriate cognitive ability at the time. When you're on medication, we would argue, for his fairness, we need to make sure that he's able to understand exactly what's happening.
KUKOLJA: Police say early indications point to Sunday's tragedy as a terrorist act inspired by the Islamic State group, which is a listed terrorist organization in Australia. They've identified the second suspect as Akram's 50-year-old father, Sajid Akram, who was killed by police on Sunday. The son remains in hospital under police guard and is due to face court again next week via video link. And as the process of justice moves to its next stage, the Jewish community turns to mourning those they have loved and lost too soon.
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UNIDENTIFIED CHOIR: (Singing) I will have you with me.
KUKOLJA: For NPR News, I'm Kristina Kukolja in Sydney. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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