Photo: Collected
The recent stabbing in an Assyrian Orthodox church in Sydney has been declared a terrorist attack with possible religious motives, Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police Reece Kershaw said on Tuesday (16 April).
On Monday, Assyrian Orthodox bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was attacked by a man armed with a knife during a church service in Sydney. The bishop and four churchgoers were injured as a result of the attack, the police said, adding that the alleged perpetrator had been detained. The attack sparked riots on the streets of Sydney, during which several police officers were injured, Australian media reported.
"We can confirm that this incident has now been declared a terrorist attack and a 16-year-old boy has been arrested in relation to the incident. I can also confirm that this matter is now under the investigation by the NSW (New South Wales) Joint Counter Terrorism team," the commissioner told a press conference.
NSW Joint Counter Terrorism Team will investigate the stabbing of a priest as a terrorist attack. The team collaborates in a secret location and is mandated under a standing brief to look into any terror-related incidents, the NSW Police Force said in a statement.
Mike Burgess, director general of security of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, which is a part of NSW Joint Counter Terrorism Team, said at the press conference that the incident was believed to be "religiously motivated."
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who was also present at the press conference, called the stabbing attack in the church a "disturbing incident."
"There is no place for violence in our community. There is no place for violent extremism. We are a peace-loving nation. This is a time to unite, not divide as a community and as a country," Albanese added.
The church stabbing was the second armed attack in Australia's Sydney in just three days. Last Saturday, six people were killed and 12 others injured as a result of another stabbing attack by 40-year-old Australian citizen Joel Cauchi at Sydney's Westfield Bondi Junction mall. Five of those killed and the majority of those wounded were women, the police said, adding that the offender "focused on women and avoided the men." The father of the attacker told ABC News that his son had suffered from schizophrenia.
Messenger/Mumu
