The knife attack which left four people injured on Monday in an Assyrian church in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia, is a “terrorist act”, police concluded on Tuesday. The attack sparked fury among worshipers and clashes with police in the street.
A bishop and the young suspect, who was arrested, are among those treated for “non-life-threatening injuries” after this attack Monday evening.
“Having considered all the elements, I have declared this to be an act of terrorism,” announced New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb. This attack is considered an act of religious “extremism”, she added, specifying that the suspect is “known to the police”, but does not appear in any anti-terrorism file.
This new attack comes two days after another stabbing attack which left six people dead, including five women, on Saturday in a Sydney shopping center. The terrorist motive was ruled out for this killing committed by a man suffering from mental illness, who was shot dead.
Service broadcast live
According to a live broadcast of the religious service, a young man dressed in black approached the altar on Monday evening, raised his right arm and struck the bishop of the Assyrian community Mar Mari Emmanuel with a knife, provoking the panic and screams among the faithful. Several people rushed to help the prelate and subdue the attacker, according to the images.
The life of the bishop of the Assyrian community, a branch of Eastern Christians, is not in danger, nor those of the other injured people, police said.
The suspect was treated for hand injuries and taken to a safe location. Emergency services said four men aged between 20 and 70 were being treated for lacerations and other injuries.
AFP identified the location from the video as Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, a western suburb of Sydney. The neighborhood is known for welcoming members of the small Assyrian Christian community who fled persecution and war in Iraq and Syria. This church hosts a religious service on Monday evenings.
Call for calm
Hundreds of people, apparently members of this community, tried to reach the church Monday evening after the attack to find the attacker, despite calls from police to avoid the area. An AFP journalist saw projectiles thrown, before the police, equipped with shields, pushed back the crowd.
The suspect “was taken from the church and taken in an undisclosed direction,” police said, asking to evacuate the area. At least two police officers were hospitalized and vehicles were damaged when the crowd threw “bottles, bricks and other objects”, according to police.
The crowd expressed “an emotional response to what happened in the church” after rumors spread on the Internet, police said, without providing details.
“This is unacceptable and those who were involved in this riot can expect a knock on their door. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but we will find you and we will come arrest you,” warned Commissioner Webb.
The head of the New South Wales government, Chris Minns, appealed for calm in a joint statement with Christian and Muslim authorities.
This article was automatically published. Sources: ats / afp
