Paul Braven/AAP Images/Reuters
On April 15, 2024, police respond to reports of a stabbing at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Sydney.
sydney, australia
CNN
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Bishop was among several people reportedly stabbed during church services An incident that police called an “act of terrorism” took place in Sydney, Australia, on Monday. Two days after a mass stabbing at a busy shopping mall shocked the city.
Video of the incident shows the pastor being attacked during a ceremony at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, in Sydney's west. Screams could be heard inside the church, and several others quickly tried to intervene.
NSW Police said members of the public detained a 15-year-old boy at the scene. Police then arrived and arrested the boy. The boy was taken to a hospital where he underwent surgery for injuries sustained in the attack.
Police said the injured did not have life-threatening injuries. Police said a 53-year-old man suffered a cut to his head, and a 39-year-old man who was injured trying to intervene also suffered a cut and shoulder injury. Police said the pair were treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics and taken to Liverpool Hospital for further treatment.
Local authorities identified the stabbed priest as Bishop Mar-Marie Emmanuel.
Charbel Saliba, deputy mayor of Fairfield, Sydney's western suburbs, told CNN: “As he was bleeding, he laid his hands on the man who had stabbed him and said, 'May the Lord Jesus Christ save you. “I said something like 'to.'”
Saliba said the bishop was well known in the local community.
Videos on social media showed a chaotic scene outside the church, with people kicking and throwing objects at police cars amidst angry chants. “Several officers were injured, police vehicles were damaged, and property was stolen,” police said in a statement.
Australian Jewish Association/Twitter
A livestream of the service showed Bishop Mar Mari Emanuel being attacked.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said the scene was “disturbing” and that he had been briefed by the state's police chief.
“It is important that the community remains calm, continues to listen to instructions from police and emergency services, and continues to act,” he said.
Late on Monday night, Mr Minns convened a conference of faith leaders representing various faith communities across Western Sydney.
The incident comes shortly after a stabbing at Westfield Bondi Junction on Saturday afternoon left six people dead and several others injured, including a nine-month-old infant.
Australian police said on Monday that Bondi attacker Joel Couch, 40, may have targeted women.
Five women were among the six people killed by Couch. Twelve other people were injured, eight of whom remained in hospital Monday in stable to critical condition.
This story has been updated with further developments.