Stabbing of bishop and others at Sydney church a ‘terrorist act’, police say

() – A bishop is among several people reported to have been stabbed during a religious service in Sydney, Australia, on Monday, in what police called a “terrorist act.” The events occur just two days after the city recorded a mass stabbing in a busy shopping center.

Video of the incident appears to show a clergyman being attacked during a ceremony at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, west of Sydney. Several people immediately tried to intervene while screams could be heard in the area.

This Tuesday, a New South Wales police spokesperson confirmed that the suspect arrested in the knife attack at a church in Sydney, Australia, is a 16-year-old boy. His name has not yet been released by authorities. The police spokesman did not provide further details about the suspect.

It was previously reported that the suspect was a 15-year-old boy who was grabbed by members of the public at the church. Police arrested the teenager who was taken to a hospital in custody and operated on for injuries sustained during the attack.

Police indicated that none of the injured suffered life-threatening injuries. A 53-year-old man suffered cuts to his head and a 39-year-old man, who was injured after trying to intervene, also suffered cuts to his shoulder, authorities said. Both were treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics and taken to Liverpool Hospital for further treatment, police said.

A local official identified the stabbed cleric as Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel.

While bleeding, “he put his hand on the man who stabbed him and said something like, ‘May the Lord Jesus Christ save you,'” Charbel Saliba, deputy mayor of Fairfield City, a western Sydney suburb, told .

In a statement on Tuesday, the Church said the bishop and a parish priest at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Sydney were injured and are receiving treatment after a knife attack during a live sermon.

This Monday night, local time, “while broadcasting live a biblical preaching in Assyrian, an attempt was made on the life of Bishop HG Mar Mari Emmanuel. “The bishop is receiving treatment in the hospital for the injuries sustained and his condition, by the divine grace of God and your prayers, is stable and improving,” the statement said.

“As our live broadcast (Facebook and YouTube) shows, the attacker approached the lectern with a hidden knife and lunged at him to deliver multiple blows: to the head and several to the body,” the statement continues, adding that the Parish priest, Father Isaac Royel, is also receiving treatment for injuries sustained.

“It was like a horror movie”: witness recounts the attack in Sydney shopping center

No one else was injured, according to the statement, which added that “the attacker was quickly detained by worshipers who were sitting nearby, and has been detained by the Police, who already have him in custody.”

The bishop is a well-known figure in the local community, Saliba said.

Videos spread on social media showed chaotic scenes outside the church, as people kicked and threw objects at police cars, amid angry chants. “Several officers were injured, there are damaged police vehicles and stolen property,” authorities said.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said the scenes were “disturbing” and that he had been informed by the state’s police commissioner.

“It is important that the community remains calm and continues to listen and act according to the instructions of the police and emergency services,” he declared.

On Monday night, Minns convened a meeting of faith leaders representing different faith communities in western Sydney.

The incident comes shortly after six people were killed and several others injured, including a nine-month-old baby, in a stabbing attack at Westfield Bondi Junction on Saturday afternoon.

Australian police said on Monday that Bondi attacker Joel Cauchi, 40, may have aimed to attack women.

Among the six people who died were five women. Twelve others were injured, eight of whom remained in hospital on Monday in conditions ranging from stable to critical.

– ‘s Christian Edwards wrote from London and Paul Devitt reported from Sydney.