SYDNEY: At least four people were wounded, including a bishop with a global online following, in a knife attack during a service at a church in a suburb of Sydney on Monday, police and witnesses said, triggering clashes between angry residents and police. Police said they arrested a 15-year-old male at the scene and were forced to hold him at the church in Wakeley, a suburb about 30 km west of downtown Sydney, for his own safety after a crowd gathered outside and demanded the attacker be brought out.It was the second major stabbing attack in just three days after six people were killed in a knife attack at a beachside mall in the Bondi area.
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel of the Assyrian Christ ‘Good Shepherd Church was speaking during an evening service on Monday when a man walked towards him and lunged with a knife, according to video of the event captured from a livestream on the church’s social media page. Horrified members of the congregation scream as the man stabs the priest several times in the head and chest. A separate eyewitness video shows the man being pinned to the ground, his face obscured. A voice speaks in Arabic and says: “If they didn’t insult my prophet, I wouldn’t have come here.”
Authorities disclosed no motive for the attack and have not identified the suspect.
Two witnesses said the crowd threw rocks at police. Over 100 police officers were called in to deal with the unrest, and two were taken to hospital with injuries, police said.
Emmanuel was ordained a priest in 2009 and then a bishop in 2011. The bishop has become a popular figure online, with clips of his sermons racking up hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube and TikTok. He became well known for his hardline views during the pandemic, with the bishop describing Covid lockdowns as “mass slavery”. A recent sermon shows him claim the UN was founded by Satan. Reuters