Australia says Assyrian church stabbing was terrorist act
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[April 16, 2024]
By Renju Jose and Lewis Jackson
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australian police on Tuesday said a knife attack on an
Assyrian church bishop and some followers in Sydney was a terrorist act
motivated by suspected religious extremism, as the country reeled from a
second stabbing incident in three days.
At least four people were wounded in the attack, including Bishop Mar
Mari Emmanuel of the Assyrian Christ The Good Shepherd Church, when a
man lunged at him with a knife during a service live-streamed on Monday.
The incident at the western Sydney suburb of Wakeley triggered clashes
outside the church between police and an angry crowd of the bishop's
followers who demanded the attacker be handed over to them.
Police arrested a male teenager at the scene and were forced to hold him
at the church for his own safety.
"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.
"After consideration of all the material, I declared that it was a
terrorist incident."
Police said there was premeditation as the male attacker travelled 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.
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Christ the Good Shepherd Church in a statement called the attack an
isolated incident and said it was awaiting the police findings into the
motive of the attacker.
"The Church denounces retaliation of any kind," it said.
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 hospitalised with injuries and 20 police
vehicles were damaged, Webb said.
It was the second major stabbing attack in just three days in
Australia's most populous city after six people were killed and 12
injured in a knife attack at a beachside mall in the Bondi area on
Saturday.
'TIME TO UNITE'
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said there was no place in Australia for
violent extremism.
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![](../images/041624PIX/news_v44.jpg)
Police talk to locals across the street from the Assyrian Christ The
Good Shepherd Church after a knife attack took place during a
service the night before, in Wakely in Sydney, Australia, April 16,
2024. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
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"We're a peace-loving nation. This is a time to unite, not divide,
as a community, and as a country," he said during a media
conference.
Bishop Emmanuel's live-streamed sermons attract a global audience
and his video clips rack up hundreds of thousands of views online.
He became well known for his hardline views during the pandemic when
he described lockdowns as "mass slavery", media reported at the
time. A sermon uploaded on YouTube last year showed the bishop
criticising Islam.
Lakemba mosque in Sydney's southwest, one of Australia's largest,
received firebomb threats on Monday night, the Lebanese Muslim
Association said.
"We are vigilant ... we're also asking the police to protect all
places of worship. We are worried that there may be attacks on all
forms of faith, and that is the last thing we need," Secretary Gamel
Kheir told reporters.
Australia's spy chief said he would check people close to the
attacker to rule out any further threats to the community.
"It is prudent that we do this to determine there's no threats or
immediate threats to security. At this time, we're not seeing that,"
said Mike Burgess, director-general of security for the Australian
Security Intelligence Organisation.
Asked by a reporter about a video circulating of the alleged
attacker pinned to the ground, his face obscured, with a voice
speaking in Arabic "if they didn't insult my prophet, I wouldn't
have come here", Burgess said: "We're aware of those comments ...
everything else is open lines of inquiry to understand why that
individual got to where they did."
(Reporting by Renju Jose, Lewis Jackson and Stella Qiu in Sydney;
Editing by Stephen Coates)
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