Teen suspect hurt in attack
Second stabbing in sydney categorised as an act of terror
A teenager has been accused of wounding a Christian bishop and priest during a church service in a second high-profile knife attack to rock Sydney in recent days that authorities declared an act of terrorism.
The 16-year-old was overpowered by the shocked congregation at Christ the Good Shepherd Church after he allegedly stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and Fr Isaac Royel during a service on Monday night that was being streamed online.
Police have not commented on reports that the boy’s fingers were severed by parishioners in the Orthodox Assyrian church in suburban Wakeley, but confirmed his hand injuries were “severe”.
Video of the attack spread quickly on social media and an angry mob converged on the church demanding vengeance. They hurled bricks and bottles at police, who temporarily barricaded the boy inside the church for his own safety.
Several people including police officers required hospital treatment following the hours-long riot.
Police and community leaders said public anxiety had been heightened by a lone assailant’s knife attack in a Sydney shopping mall on Saturday that killed five women and a male security guard who attempted to intervene. The 40-year-old assailant Joel Cauchi had a history of mental illness. He was shot dead by police.
News South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb yesterday declared the church attack a terrorist incident, but not the shopping mall rampage.
The terrorism categorisation allows more law enforcement resources to be focused on the crime. The declaration also gives police expanded powers to stop and search people, premises and vehicles without a warrant.
Webb said the teen’s comments and actions pointed to a religious motive for the attack. She didn’t detail the wording of the comments that led her to believe he had been religiously motivated.
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the nation’s main domestic spy agency, and Australian Federal Police have joined state police in a counterterrorism task force to investigate who else was potentially involved.
Webb said the teen suspect had been known to police, but had not been on a terror watch list. He was convicted in January of a range of offences including possession of a switchblade knife, being armed with a weapon with an intention to commit an indictable offence, stalking and damaging property, Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.