SYDNEY (AP) – Australian police say a knife attack that injured a bishop and priest and sparked riots during a service in Sydney was not an act of terrorism as terrified worshipers watched online and in person. announced.
Police have arrested a 16-year-old boy after Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and a priest were stabbed to death at Christ the Good Shepherd Church on Tuesday. Both are expected to survive.
Security guards stand guard outside an Assyrian Orthodox church in Sydney, Australia, Monday, April 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the suspect's statements suggested a religious motive for the attack.
“We allege that there was a degree of premeditation based on the fact that this person traveled to that location, which is not near his home address, traveled with a knife, and then the bishop and the priest were stabbed.” he said. . “They're lucky to be alive.”
Webb said the boy was known to police but was not on the terrorist watch list.
The country's main spy agencies, the Australian Security and Intelligence Organization, and the Australian Federal Police had joined state police on a counter-terrorism task force to investigate who else may have been involved.
ASIO Director General Mike Burgess said the investigation had not yet uncovered any related threats.
“There appears to be a religious motive, but we are continuing to investigate,” Burgess said.
“Our job is to investigate the individuals associated with the attackers to ensure there are no others in the community with similar intentions. There is no indication of that at this stage,” Burgess said. he added.
The risk of terrorist attack in Australia is assessed as 'probable' on ASIO advice. This is the second lowest level on the five-level National Terrorism Threat Advisory System, after “unexpected.''
In response to the attack, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “There is no place for violence in our communities. There is no place for violent extremism.”
Police say Christ the Good Shepherd, in suburban Wakeley, streams sermons online and that during Monday night's service, a figure dressed in black approached the altar and the bishop and officiant approached the altar before the congregation overran it. Worshipers reportedly witnessed him stabbing Isaac Royle.
Officials said a crowd of several hundred people seeking revenge gathered outside an Assyrian Orthodox church, throwing bricks and bottles, injuring police officers and preventing them from taking the boy outside.
A police officer stands guard outside a church where a bishop and church members were reportedly stabbed in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Acting Police Commissioner Andrew Holland told reporters the teenage suspect and at least two police officers were also hospitalized.
In a message on social media, the church said the bishop and priest were in stable condition and asked for people's prayers. “It is the wish of the bishop and his father that you also pray for the perpetrator,” the statement said.
Mr Holland praised the congregation for subduing the boy before calling police. Asked if the boy's fingers had been amputated, he said the injuries to his hand were “severe”.
More than 100 police reinforcements arrived before the boy was removed from the church in an incident that lasted several hours. Several police vehicles were damaged, Holland said.
“Many houses were damaged. They broke into many houses to get weapons to throw at the police. They threw weapons and items at the church itself. Injured the clergy. “There were obviously people who wanted to get in touch with the young man who had inflicted this,” he said.
Australians still in shock after isolated assault stabbed 6 people to death More than a dozen people were injured in an attack at a Sydney shopping mall on Saturday.
Holland suggested the weekend attack heightened community reaction to the church stabbing.
“Given the incidents involving knives in Sydney over the last few days, there is clearly concern,” he said. “We have asked everyone to think rationally at this stage. We have spoken to community leaders, community members, spoken to local people and tried to calm people down.”
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns described the scenes on social media as “disturbing” and urged local residents to remain calm and “unity”. Religious leaders expressed shock and condolences.
Fairfield Mayor Frank Carbone, a leader in neighboring city government, described Bishop as a community leader. “This is a very emotional situation. It's clear the community is very upset,” Carbone said.
Christ the Good Shepherd was preparing for Palm Sunday later this month.
The bishop, described in local media as someone who can be seen as a polarizing figure on issues such as coronavirus restrictions, made national news last year for his comments on gender.
In a video posted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in May 2023 about a campaign targeting the LGBTQ+ community, the bishop says in his homily: “When a man calls himself a woman, he is neither a man nor a woman. You are not a human being. Then you are that. Now, you are IT, so I don't treat you as a human being anymore.” Because it's your choice, not mine.”
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McGuirk reported from Melbourne, Australia.
