Bishop Is Stabbed During Live Streamed Service in Sydney

[maestrob]

Nobody was critically injured, the police said. The attack came two days after a deadly stabbing rampage at a mall in an eastern suburb of Sydney.


By Claire Moses
April 15, 2024
Updated 11:58 a.m. ET
Two days after a deadly stabbing attack at a crowded mall in Sydney, the police in Australia said they had arrested a man on suspicion of stabbing multiple people during mass at a church in a suburb west of the city.

A police operation was underway after 7:10 p.m. local time on Monday, the New South Wales Police Force said in a statement. The police said that “a number of people were stabbed,” but that none of them had suffered life-threatening injuries. The Australian news media reported that there were four victims, including a religious leader.

A livestream of a service at the Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, Australia, showed an assailant walking up to Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel while he was addressing a crowd and beating him repeatedly with his hand, while holding an object that can’t be seen in the video. Cries and screams can be heard from others in the church.

“A large police response is underway, and the public is urged to avoid the area,” the police said. “It’s important that the community remain calm.”

Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales, said on social media that he had convened a meeting of religious leaders in western Sydney after the church stabbing.

“Disturbing scenes tonight in Wakeley,” he wrote on X. “All of the following community leaders endorsed and supported a unanimous condemnation of violence in any form.”

Bishop Emmanuel is part of an ultraconservative sect of the Assyrian Orthodox religion. He is known to livestream his sermons online. During the pandemic, he opposed lockdowns and preached against Covid vaccinations. He has also often condemned L.G.B.T.Q. people.

Soon after the attack, videos started circulating online of a large group of people protesting outside the church, which The Sydney Morning Herald described as a “near-riot.” As of 1 a.m. local time, order had been restored and the police operation had ended, the police force said in a statement.

Two officers were injured and police vehicles sustained damage, the police said. One officer was hit by a metal object and had a “twisted knee and a chipped tooth,” they said, while another officer had a broken jaw after being hit with a brick and a piece of fence.

The police said they had taken the man whom they arrested to an undisclosed location.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/15/worl ... ralia.html

[jserraglio]

What’s going on Down Under? Australia; beautiful one day, horrendous the next.

[Belle]

Just like you, we're all celebrating cultural enrichment and diversity!! And, god, it feels so good!!

[jserraglio]

Just like you, we're all celebrating cultural enrichment and diversity!! And, god, it feels so good!!

Exactly! Just like the U.S., you’ve clearly hit the skids, rioting in the streets of Sidney, but unlike us, you don’t even know it yet. Doah!!

Hundreds of people gathered outside the Assyrian Orthodox Church - about 35km south-west of the city centre - and clashed with police. Two officers were injured, one with a broken jaw after he was hit with a brick and fence paling. Twenty police vehicles were also damaged, with 10 left unusable.

The violence similarly left paramedics retreating for cover in the church, where they were "holed up" there for more than three hours.

A strike force has also been assembled to investigate the riot, [New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb] said. "Those involved in the riot can expect a knock at the door... We will find you and we will come and arrest you," she added.

The head of the NSW Ambulance also called the behaviour from crowds "outrageous".

"Our people, that do nothing but go to care and help every single day, need to know that they've got the support of the community. If they don't... who will come and do these jobs?"