Sydney church stabbing 'religiously motivated terror attack', says police
The knife attack at a church in Sydney, was a "religiously motivated terror attack," police in Australia said on Tuesday. "After consideration of all the material, I declared that it was a terrorist incident," New South Wales police commissioner Karen Webb, told the media. The incident took place at Christ the Good Shepherd church in Wakeley yesterday evening, resulting in injuries to a bishop and several congregants. Notably, it was the second knife attack in the country in three days.
Four injured, including bishop, in Sydney church attack
According to reports, four people—including Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and a clergyman—were injured in the incident. The church later confirmed via social media that both the bishop and clergyman were recovering and were in a stable condition. A 16-year-old boy was arrested by the police for his involvement in the attack. He is currently under police supervision at a local hospital following surgery for injuries he sustained during the incident, reports said.
Suspect's background, police's statement
The 16-year-old suspect was previously known to law enforcement but was not on any terror watch list. Commissioner Webb stated, "We'll allege there's a degree of premeditation on the basis that this person has traveled to that location, which is not near his residential address, he has traveled with a knife and subsequently the bishop and the priest have been stabbed...They're lucky to be alive." Currently, no evidence suggests others were involved in orchestrating this attack.
Australian government's response
In response to the incident, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the initiation of a joint counter-terrorism task force comprising of the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. He said, "I understand that people are feeling uneasy, and that's understandable given the atrocity that occurred on Saturday and then this incident last night...There is no place for violence in our community. There's no place for violent extremism."
6 killed in mass stabbing at a shopping centre
This church stabbing marks the second such incident in Sydney within a three-day span. The previous attack occurred at a shopping center in the city's Bondi district. Joel Cauchi, from Queensland, stabbed five women and one man on Saturday, while injuring 12 others, including an infant. The attacker, Cauchi, was neutralized by a police officer at the scene. Police said that Cauchi had a history of mental health issues and clarified that the incident was not being treated as terrorism-related.
