Australian police said on Tuesday, the 16th of April, that a knife attack on the Assyrian bishop and several followers in Sydney was an act of terror motivated by religious extremism, as the country saw its second knife attack in three days, reports Reuters.
At least four people, including Bishop Emmanuel of the Assyrian Church of the Good Shepherd of Christ, were injured in the attack when a man attacked him with a knife during a live-streamed church service on Monday.
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The incident in Sydney’s western suburb of Wakeley led to clashes outside the church between police and an angry crowd demanding the attacker be handed over to them.
Police arrested a 15-year-old youth at the scene on Monday.
At a press conference, New South Wales State Police Commissioner Karen Webb said that elements of religiously motivated extremism had been identified.
“After reviewing all the material, I am declaring that this was a terrorist incident,”
she said.
Police said the attack was pre-planned as the attacker went to the church, which is far from his home, with a knife. But Webb said that at this early stage of the investigation, police believe the attacker acted alone.
This was the second knife attack in just three days in Australia’s most populous city, Sydney, after six people were killed and 12 injured in a knife attack at a beachside shopping centre on Saturday the 13th of April.
New South Wales State Premier Chris Minns warned that people should refrain from taking the law into their own hands. He stressed that any retaliatory violence in Sydney in the coming days would be dealt with with the full force of the law.
Emergency crews said they had helped about 30 people after clashes at a church and seven of them were taken to hospitals with injuries. Several police officers were also hospitalised with injuries and 20 police vehicles were damaged, Webb said.
Bishop Emmanuel’s sermons, which are broadcast live, have gained considerable popularity around the world.
During the pandemic, he became well known for his tough stance against lockdown, which he compared to “mass slavery”, according to media reports. In a sermon posted on YouTube last year, the bishop criticised Islam, further fuelling controversy over his views and statements.
According to the Lebanese Muslim Association, the Lakemba Mosque in south-west Sydney, one of the largest in Australia, received a bomb threat on Monday evening. Secretary Gamel Keir expressed concern about possible attacks on places of all faiths and called on the police to protect these places to prevent any violence.
When asked about a video showing the alleged attacker saying in Arabic “if they didn’t insult my prophet, I wouldn’t have come here”, Burgess acknowledged the comments and stated that further investigation is needed to understand the individual’s motivations and actions.
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