Australian police arrest teen after bishop wounded in church stabbing
SYDNEY—At least four people were wounded, including a bishop with a global online following, in the second major stabbing attack in Australia in three days following a deadly knife attack at a beachside mall in Sydney’s Bondi area.
Police arrested a 15-year-old male after Monday night’s attack at a church in Wakeley, a suburb about 30 kilometers west of downtown Sydney, where clashes erupted between police and angry residents seeking to get hold of the attacker.
Authorities have declared the attack on an Assyrian church bishop and some followers as a terrorist act motivated by suspected religious extremism.
On Saturday, a 40-year-old man went on a stabbing rampage inside the Westfield Bondi Junction mall, killing six people—five of whom were women.
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel of the Assyrian Christ The Good Shepherd Church was speaking during an evening service on Monday when a man walked towards him and lunged with a knife, according to video of the event captured from a livestream on the church’s social media page.
Horrified members of the congregation scream as the man stabs the priest several times in the head and chest, the videos show.
A separate eyewitness video, verified by Reuters and taken in the aftermath of the incident, shows the man being pinned to the ground by several others, his face obscured.
A voice speaks in Arabic and says: “If they didn’t insult my prophet, I wouldn’t have come here. If he didn’t involve himself in my religion, I would not have come here.”
“We believe there are elements that are satisfied in terms of religious motivated extremism,” New South Wales state Police commissioner Karen Webb said during a press conference on Tuesday.
No retaliation“After consideration of all the material, I declared that it was a terrorist incident.”
Police said there was premeditation as the male attacker traveled to the church, far from his home, with a knife. But Webb said police at this early stage of the investigation believe the attacker was acting alone.
Christ the Good Shepherd Church in a statement called the attack an isolated incident.
“The Church denounces retaliation of any kind,” it said.
Authorities urged people not to take the law into their hands.
“You will be met by the full force of the law if there’s any attempt for tit-for-tat violence in Sydney over the coming days,” New South Wales State Premier Chris Minns told reporters.
Emergency crews said they attended to around 30 people after the clash outside the church, and seven were taken to hospitals with injuries. Several police were also hospitalized with injuries and 20 police vehicles were damaged, Webb said.
Two witnesses said the crowd threw rocks at police. More than 100 police officers were called in to deal with the unrest. Two were taken to hospital with injuries, police said.
“There was so much anger because the bishop is loved by them. He preaches about the Lord and we love the Lord,” said a resident.
