Attack in church

Act of terror in Sydney: Bishop forgives “his son”

After the attack, there were chaotic scenes in front of the church, where a crowd of hundreds of angry people quickly gathered alongside emergency services and police officers.(Bild: AFP/cgsc.org.au)

The 16-year-old assailant who attacked the bishop of the Assyrian community with a knife during a mass in the western suburb of Wakeley is still being treated in hospital. The bishop is on the road to recovery. "I say to him: 'You are my son, I love you and I will always pray for you. Whoever sent you to do this, I forgive them too'," said Mar Mari Emmanuel.

"I am recovering very quickly. There is no need to be worried or concerned," Mar Mari Emmanuel said in an audio message released on Thursday (see below).

He was attacked by the 16-year-old during a mass - streamed live on the internet - in the western suburb of Wakeley. "Religiously motivated extremism" is a possible motive for the attack, which the police have already classified as an "act of terrorism".

Bishop and priest survived
The bishop and at least one priest were operated on after the attack and, according to the police, only survived by luck. The teenage attacker is said to have had at least one of his fingers cut off - it is still unclear exactly how this happened.

The video published by the church (Mar Mari Emmanuel's statement can be heard from around minute 3):

Riots after attack
After the attack, there were chaotic scenes in front of the church, where a crowd of hundreds of angry people quickly gathered alongside rescue workers and police officers. The situation escalated and riots broke out.

Even paramedics had to hole up in the church for hours because they were threatened by the crowd. According to police chief Karen Webb, some of the rioters were not members of the congregation, but had only rushed to the church to cause a ruckus.

Police searching for rioters
More than 50 police officers were injured on Monday evening while trying to bring the angry mob back under control. The police called on the public to help track down the rioters. One person involved, for example, had a very distinctive tattoo on his upper body, but had "cowardly covered his own face" during the riots.