Video of teenage attacker violently stabbing bishop surfaced on social media

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In a shocking incident at Christ the Good Shepherd Church, an Orthodox Christian church in Wakeley, located in Western Sydney, Australia, a 16-year-old boy allegedly assaulted Bishop Maree Emmanuel and Father Isaac Royle during a church service on Monday evening. Stabbed. , The attack, which occurred just after 7 p.m., left both victims with non-life-threatening injuries that required hospitalization.

Many videos of stabbing incident in church have surfaced on social media. In the live-streamed video, a man can be seen approaching Bishop and begins striking him with a weapon. Bystanders then attempt to intervene while screams can be heard from the ensuing commotion.

The police arrested the teenager at the scene and he was forced to escort him inside the church premises for his own safety.

(Trigger warning: These videos contain disturbing scenes and mentions of violence. Viewer discretion is advised.)

The attacker reportedly lost his fingers during the attack, according to New South Wales Premier Chris Minns. However, it is not clear whether the teen inflicted the injuries on himself or whether these injuries occurred during the crime. As quoted by 9news.com.au, Minns said, “The information we have is that it happened while the crime was being committed, not with him.”

The teen has had previous run-ins with law enforcement, having been caught with a knife at a train station last November and also found with a knife at school in 2020. Despite the police being aware of this, he was released on a bond of good behaviour.

News agency Reuters reported that after the attack, tensions rose outside the church as police faced an angry mob demanding the handover of the perpetrator.

Australian police call church stabbing a terrorist attack Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the violence

New South Wales State Police Commissioner Karen Webb declared the incident a terrorist attack motivated by suspected religious extremism. As quoted by Reuters, he said, “We believe there are elements that are gratifying in terms of religiously motivated extremism.” Police noted the premeditated nature of the attack, as the attacker had gone to the church not far from his home, armed with a knife.

According to 9news.com.au, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Australia condemned the attack, expressing solidarity with Bishop Emmanuel and Father Royal. IH Kaussar, national president and Grand Imam of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Australia, condemned the violence, saying, “We offer our deepest condolences to all those injured in the attack and wish them a speedy and full recovery.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned violent extremism, stressing the need for unity in the face of such incidents. He stressed, “We are a peace-loving nation. This is the time to unite as one community and one country, not to be divided.”

The attack comes in the wake of another stabbing incident in Sydney’s Bondi, where six people were killed and 12 injured just three days earlier.

Local media reported that Bishop Emmanuel had attracted controversy for his radical views during the Covid pandemic as he termed lockdowns as “collective slavery”.

Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) Director-General of Security Mike Burgess assured the public of a thorough investigation of any potential threats. As quoted by Reuters, he said, “It is prudent that we do this to determine that there is no threat or immediate threat to security”.