Second stabbing to hit Sydney in recent days declared a terrorist attack

SYDNEY (AP) — A teenager was charged with wounding a Christian bishop and priest during a church service, the second high-profile stabbing attack in Sydney in recent days that authorities declared Tuesday an act terrorist.

The 16-year-old attacker was neutralized by the shocked congregation of the Church of Christ the Good Shepherd after he allegedly stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and priest Isaac Royel during a Monday night mass, which was being broadcast online. .

Police did not comment on reports that worshipers at the Assyrian Orthodox church in the suburb of Wakeley cut off the young man’s fingers, but confirmed that the injuries to his hands were “serious.”

Video of the attack quickly spread on social media and an angry mob gathered outside the church demanding revenge. They threw bricks and bottles at the agents, who temporarily sheltered the young man inside the temple for his safety.

Several people, including some police officers, had to be treated in hospitals after the riots that lasted several hours.

Police and community leaders said public anxiety increased after a person armed with a knife killed five women and a security guard who tried to intervene at a Sydney shopping center on Saturday. The attacker, Joel Cauchi, 40, had a history of psychological problems. He died after being shot by the police.

New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb declared on Tuesday that the church attack was a terrorist incident, but the shopping center attack was not.

The terrorism classification allows more police resources to be allocated to crime and allows authorities to stop and search people, premises and vehicles without the need for a warrant.

Webb noted that the teen’s statements and actions suggested the attack was religiously motivated, but did not offer further details about the comments.

“We believe that there are elements that are met in terms of religious extremism and, ‘of course, intimidation of the population through the actions of that person, by going to church, while it was being broadcast live, intimidating not only the parishioners present but also those who were watching on the internet and, later, the people who went outside the church and the disturbances that occurred,” Webb explained.

The Australian Intelligence and Security Organization, the country’s main spy agency, and federal police have joined the country’s police in a counter-terrorism task force to investigate who else may have been involved in the attack.

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McGuirk reported from Melbourne, Australia.