Australian police say a brutal live-streamed knife attack at a church service in Sydney was an act of “terrorism” carried out with religious motivation, while appealing for calm from an angry local community.
Two people were stabbed when a 16-year-old suspect stormed the pulpit at an Assyrian church in Sydney’s west on Monday night, stabbing variously at the bishop who was giving a sermon.
The teenager was immediately calmed by the angry congregation and taken into police custody.
The alleged perpetrator was “known to the police” but was not on any terrorist watch list, the senior officer said.
“After considering all available material, I declare that this is a terrorist incident,” New South Wales police commissioner Karen Webb said at a press conference.
Webb said the attack was considered an act of “extremism” driven by religious motives that created fear in the community, adding that the victims were “lucky to be alive”.
Also read: Australian Jewish Association Accuses Church Stabbing of Islamic Extremism
Three other people were treated for non-stab wounds suffered in the attack and around 30 others were treated following riots broke out outside the church.
For three hours more than 500 demonstrators clashed with rows of riot police who struggled to prevent them from re-entering the church and injuring the teenager.
He is currently being held at an undisclosed location and is believed to have suffered stab wounds. Authorities initially announced the suspect’s age as 15 years old.
Also read: Stabbing at a Church in Sydney, 4 People Injured
An AFP journalist at the scene on Monday evening saw projectiles being thrown before police with shields and armor finally pushed the protesters away from the church.
Twenty police vehicles and several houses were damaged as protesters threw bottles, bricks and other items.
“One of the officers was hit by a metal object and suffered a sprained knee and a chipped tooth,” police said.
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“Another officer suffered a broken jaw following being hit by a brick and fence.”
Calm was eventually restored, but more officers have been deployed to the neighborhood to protect local religious buildings.
The incident came two days following a man with a knife killed six people at a shopping center in the city’s east before being shot dead by police.
AFP verified the video of Monday’s attack as being shot at the Christ the Good Shepherd church, which has an online following of nearly 200,000 people.
The church is located in the Sydney suburb of Wakeley, the center of Sydney’s small Assyrian Christian community, many of whom have fled persecution and war in Iraq and Syria.
New South Wales state Premier Chris Minns issued a joint statement with Christian and Muslim religious leaders calling for calm.
“We ask everyone to act with kindness and respect for each other,” the statement said.
“Now is the time to show we are strong and united.”
The Assyrians trace their roots to an empire that ruled much of the ancient Middle East.
Since the days of the empire, they have faced persecution as a religious and ethnic minority distinct from the Arab and Muslim majority in the region.
There has also been a split within the local Assyrian community over the teachings of victimized Bishop Mar Mar Mari Emmanuel.
Australians are still reeling from Saturday’s stabbing, carried out by a 40-year-old man with a history of mental illness.
In the attack, videos shared on social media show Joel Ca
uchi, who was unshaven, chased mainly female victims as he robbed his way through a large and busy shopping center in Bondi Junction on Saturday followingnoon.
A black ribbon was projected onto the Sydney Opera House on Monday as a mark of respect for the victims of the attack. (AFP/Z-3)
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