Police armed with long-barrelled rifles will be deployed at the final Ashes Test in Sydney starting Sunday, as authorities step up security following the Bondi Beach terror attack.
Uniformed, mounted, public order and riot squad police officers will patrol the sold-out Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, three weeks after two gunmen killed 15 people and injured several others at a Hanukkah celebration in Bondi.
'Many people may not be used to seeing police carrying rifles at sporting events, but our objective here is to help the public feel safe and police will be out in force,' New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said on Saturday.
"The difference will be in the visibility of long-arms and a stronger presence. Police will otherwise be targeting anti-social and unsafe behaviour as usual," he added.
Similar measures were in place during the fourth Ashes Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from December 26, where specialist police officers armed with semi-automatic rifles patrolled the stadium precinct, nearby parks and railway stations.
Seven people remain hospitalised following the December 14 attack at Bondi. Six are in stable condition, while one remains in a critical but stable state.
Naveed Akram, 24, one of the two alleged gunmen, is facing 59 charges, including 15 counts of murder. He was shot by police at the scene and spent several days in a coma before being formally charged.
His father, Sajid Akram, 50, the second accused in the attack, was shot dead by police at the scene.
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