New knife attack in an already battered country. Two days after a knife attack that left six people dead in Sydney, Australian police announced on Monday the arrest of a man after reports of several people stabbed in the same city. Local media report at least four injuries.
What happened ?
Police were called at 7:10 p.m. Monday (11:10 a.m. in France), “to the scene of a suspected stabbing at a church in Wakeley, in the southwest of Sydney,” https://twitter.com/nswpolice/status/1779842572011323489. The attack took place in the Assyrian Church of the Good Shepherd where, according to Australian media News.com, a bishop and several other people were attacked with knives in the middle of mass.
The mass was filmed and broadcast on the church’s YouTube channel, so videos of the attack were quickly shared on social media. They show a man dressed in black advancing towards Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and violently hitting him several times in the upper body with an object difficult to distinguish, to the terrified screams of the faithful present. The images then show the bishop collapsing and people present trying to intervene.
Australian police announced the arrest of a 15-year-old boy for stabbing a bishop and a second clergyman at a Sydney church the day before during a live-streamed sermon. The suspect is being treated for hand injuries and taken to a safe location after the attack sparked fury among worshipers, said Andrew Holland, a senior New Wales state police officer. from South.
Police forces are also around the targeted church, in front of which a crowd has gathered, “a vast police intervention is underway,” they write. They ask the public present “to leave the area”.
What condition are the victims in?
The bishop was rushed to hospital, without his life being in danger. At least three other people were also injured, according to a rescue spokesperson. The victims suffered “non-life-threatening injuries,” police said, assuring that “more information will be provided as soon as it becomes available.”
Paramedics told AFP that four men aged between 20 and 70 were treated, notably for lacerations. According to Reuters, 11 ambulances are present on site.
At least two police officers were hospitalized and vehicles were damaged during violent protests following the stabbing, Australian police said. Officers were injured by people throwing “bottles, bricks and other objects”, said Andrew Holland, a senior New South Wales state police officer.
Who are the victims ?
According to the images, the person initially targeted appears to be Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel. As noted by News.com, the man of the Church made himself known to part of the general Australian public through statements opposed to the country’s policies during the Covid-19 period, showing himself to be very critical at the same time. confinement and vaccination. He is particularly followed on social networks.
Three other people were affected, according to New South Wales emergency services, cited by several media including SkyNews. A person in their thirties was reportedly taken to hospital while the two others, one aged in their twenties and the other in their sixties, were treated at the scene.
The facts come two days after a knife attack in a Sydney shopping center which left six people dead and several injured.
