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Sydney: Knife attack in church classified as an act of terrorism

(Bild: AFP)

The attack on clergy of a Christian congregation near Sydney during a church service, which left at least four people injured, has been classified as an act of terrorism by investigators. The motive of the suspected perpetrator, who is around 16 years old, is obviously "religiously motivated extremism", said Karen Webb, the police chief of the Australian state of New South Wales, at a press conference on Tuesday morning (local time).

The injured victims include the bishop of the local Assyrian community in Sydney's western suburb of Wakeley and at least one priest. They had undergone surgery and had only survived by luck, Webb said. The bishop had held a mass on Monday evening about 30 kilometers west of Sydney.

Attackers already known to the police
Footage published on the Internet from the live broadcast of the service shows a man in a black sweater stabbing the bishop several times before churchgoers overpower the perpetrator. According to Webb, the attack was probably carried out with a folding knife. The attacker was later arrested and, according to Webb, was already known to the police, but was not on any watch lists for suspected terrorists. Investigators are in talks with his parents to find out more about the teenager's motive.

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After the arrest of the suspected perpetrator, a crowd formed in front of the Assyrian church Christ The Good Shepherd. The situation quickly escalated and riots broke out. According to Webb, police units from all over the metropolitan area of Sydney were called in for reinforcement. The police were attacked with bricks and fence posts, and one police officer suffered a broken jaw.

Riots outside the church, emergency services threatened
Even paramedics had to hole up in the church for hours because they were threatened by the angry crowd. According to the police, several officers were injured and 20 emergency vehicles were damaged during the riots.

Videos on Twitter show the riots:

According to the report, the perpetrator himself was also injured - it initially remained unclear how he sustained the apparently serious injuries. According to media reports, several of his fingers were cut off. When asked by journalists whether the angry mob was responsible, Webb replied that this was part of the investigation. According to the emergency services, they had to treat a total of 30 patients and seven injured people were taken to hospital.

"There is a lot of anger"
Webb announced that the security authorities would investigate all perpetrators of violence and bring them to justice for the riots. "All those who were involved in these riots can expect us to come knocking on their door," Webb said. "Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but we will find you and we will arrest you. This is absolutely unacceptable."

"There was so much anger because the bishop is loved by them, including me," said a resident who gave her name as Canny. "He preaches about the Lord and we love the Lord." According to earlier media reports, he became known for a hard line during the pandemic, for example when he castigated the lockdowns as "mass slavery". In a sermon published online, he declared that the United Nations was founded by Satan. Some of his sermons on the short video service TikTok were viewed millions of times.

The attack took place three days after a stabbing rampage in Sydney. Seven people were killed in the attack at a shopping center on Saturday. According to initial findings by investigators, the perpetrator apparently has psychological problems and a terrorist background has been ruled out. Australia has comparatively strict gun laws and such attacks are rather rare.