SYDNEY (AP) — Australian police say a knife attack in Sydney that left a bishop and a priest wounded during a church service as horrified worshipers watched online and in person was an act of terrorism.
Police arrested a 16-year-old boy Tuesday after a stabbing at Christ the Good Shepherd Church that injured Bishop Mar Marie Emmanuel and a priest. Both are expected to survive.
Security officers stand guard outside the Assyrian Orthodox Church in Sydney, Australia, Monday, April 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the suspect’s comments indicated a religious motive for the attack.
“We would argue that there is a degree of premeditation based on the fact that this man traveled to this location which is not close to his residential address, he traveled with a knife and subsequently the bishop and the priest were stabbed,” said Web. “They’re lucky to be alive.”
The teenager was known to police but was not on a terrorist watch list, Webb said.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the boy was 16 years old, adding that “there is no place for violence in our community. There is no place for violent extremism.” Authorities previously said he was 15 years old.
Christ the Good Shepherd in suburban Weakley broadcasts sermons online, and worshipers watched as a man dressed in black approached the altar and stabbed Bishop and priest Isaac Royel during a Monday night church service before the congregation overpowered him, police said.
A mob of hundreds seeking revenge gathered outside the Assyrian Orthodox church, hurling bricks and bottles, injuring officers and preventing police from escorting the teenager outside, officials said.
The teenage suspect and at least two police officers were also hospitalized, Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police Andrew Holland told reporters.
The church said in a message on social media that the bishop and the priest were in stable condition and asked people for prayers. “The wish of the bishop and the father is that you also pray for the perpetrator,” the statement said.
Holland thanked the congregation for calming the teenager down before calling the police. Asked if the teenager’s fingers had been cut off, he said the injuries to the hands were “severe”.
More than 100 police reinforcements arrived before the teenager was taken away from the church in the hours-long incident. Several police vehicles were damaged, Holland said.
“Many houses have been damaged. They broke into a number of houses to get weapons to throw at the police. They threw weapons and objects at the church itself. Obviously, there were people who wanted to gain access to the young man who caused the injuries to the clerics,” he said.
A police officer stands guard outside a church where a bishop and churchgoers were reportedly stabbed in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
The Australians were still in shock after a lone striker stabbed six people to death at a Sydney shopping center on Saturday and injured more than a dozen others.
Holland suggested the weekend attack heightened the community’s reaction to the church stabbing.
“Given that there have been knife incidents in Sydney over the last few days, there are obviously concerns,” he said. “We have asked everyone to think rationally at this stage. We’ve been talking to community leaders and community members to talk to their local people to try and keep people calm.
NSW Premier Chris Min described the scenes as “disturbing” on social media and urged the community to remain calm and “stick together”. Religious leaders expressed shock and condolences.
Fairfield Mayor Frank Carbone, leader of the neighboring municipal government, described the bishop as a community leader. “It’s a very emotional situation. Obviously the community is very upset,” Carbone told Sky News.
Christ the Good Shepherd was preparing for Palm Sunday later that month.
The bishop, described in local media as a figure sometimes seen as divisive on issues such as COVID-19 restrictions, was in the national news last year for comments about gender.
A video released in May 2023 by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for a campaign targeting the LGBTQ+ community shows the bishop in a sermon saying that “when a man calls himself a woman, he is neither man nor woman, you are not human, then you are. Now, since you are that, I will no longer address you as a person, because it is not my choice, but your choice.
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McGuirk reported from Melbourne, Australia.