SYDNEY, April 15 —A number of people were wounded in a stabbing incident during a service at a church in a suburb of Sydney today, police said.
It was the second reported mass stabbing in just three days in Sydney after six people were killed in a knife attack at a mall in the Bondi area.
Officers arrested a male and have taken him to an undisclosed location following the attack in Wakeley, about 30 kilometres west of Sydney’s central business district.
Police attempted to control angry crowds gathered outside the church after the attack, demanding the suspect be brought outside, according to a Reuters witness.
Today’s attack happened during a service at an Assyrian church called Christ The Good Shepherd Church. Videos of the incident circulating online showed a man standing at the alter of the church and speaking to worshippers as another man wearing a black jumper walks towards him and attacks him. Reuters has not verified the footage.
Horrified members of the congregation scream as the man stabs the priest several time in the chest, the videos show.
The Church streamed the sermons live on its social media page. The motive of the attack is unknown.
One witness told Reuters that the priest attacked was Mar Mari Emmanuel, who is the bishop of the church.
“There was so much anger because the bishop is loved by them, he’s loved by myself as well, he preaches about the lord and we love the lord,” said a local resident Canny, who also saw the bishop put in an ambulance.
Emmanuel was ordained a priest in 2009 and then a bishop in 2011, according to the church’s website. The bishop appears to be a popular figure on social media, with clips of his sermons garnering millions of views on platforms including TikTok.
The wounded people suffered non-life threatening injuries and were being treated by paramedics, police said.
The New South Wales ambulance service said at least four people were injured including a man in his 50s who was taken to hospital in a serious condition. There are 11 ambulances on the scene.
“It’s important that the community remain calm and continue to listen and act to the directions of Police and Emergency Services,” New South Wales state Premier Chris Minns said in a social media post. — Reuters
