Police: Australia church attack a ‘terrorist incident’
A stabbing attack at a church in Sydney that left four people injured has been declared an act of terrorism, Australian police said Tuesday morning. It was the second mass attack in the city in less than 72 hours.
“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 news conference.
The attack took place Monday evening at the Assyrian Christ The Good Shepherd Church in the city suburb of Wakeley, according to police.
At least four people were wounded in the attack, including a parish priest and a popular, but controversial, bishop. A teenager was arrested at the scene, Webb said, but his identity has not yet been released.
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was stabbed when the teenager lunged at him with a knife, police said. A video of the attack shows the bishop delivering a sermon from behind a pulpit when the teen, wearing a black sweatshirt, approaches.
Emmanuel’s livestreamed sermons attract a global audience and his video clips rack up hundreds of thousands of views online. A sermon uploaded on Youtube last year showed the bishop criticizing Islam.
The knife attack 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.
Emergency crews said they attended to about 30 people after the clash outside the church, and seven were taken to hospitals.
Several police were also hospitalized, and 20 police vehicles were damaged, Webb said.
“Police attended the incident in Wakeley last night to assist that community ... and the crowd turned on police,” Webb said.
Those involved in the riot can expect “a knock at the door,” she added.
Webb said the agency will increase police presence across the city, adding that a counterterror team was being formed to investigate the crime.
Mass attacks are rare in Australia, a country that has strict gun laws.
Contributing: Reuters