Sydney church stabbing injuries four; second instance in three days
At least four people were hurt in a knife assault on Monday during a service at a church in a Sydney suburb, including a bishop with a large worldwide following, according to witnesses and police. The incident led to altercations between irate locals and police. After six people were slain in a knife assault at a Bondi seaside mall, this was the second significant stabbing incident in three days.
A guy approached Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel of the Assyrian Christ the Good Shepherd Church on Monday night during an evening worship and made a knife-wielding move, as shown in footage of the incident that was posted on the church’s social media website.
The footage shows horrified churchgoers screaming as the priest is repeatedly stabbed in the head and chest by the unnamed attacker. Authorities did not reveal the attack’s motivation.
An irate throng gathered outside and asked that the assailant be brought out, according to police, who then had to restrain the 15-year-old guy for his own safety inside the church in Wakeley, a suburb located approximately 30 km (18 miles) west of Sydney’s CBD.
According to two witnesses, the mob hurled rocks at the cops. In the end, more than a hundred police officers were sent to quell the disturbance; two of them were reportedly injured and transported to the hospital.
A local citizen who went by the name Canny stated, “There was so much anger because the bishop is loved by them, he’s loved by myself as well, he preaches about the Lord and we love the Lord.” The offender was brought to a secret place.No injuries were deemed life-threatening by the authorities. The church website states that Emmanuel was ordained as a priest in 2009 and as a bishop in 2011. The bishop has gained popularity on social media, as seen by the hundreds of millions of views that videos of his sermons have received on sites like YouTube and TikTok.
According to local media at the time, Emmanuel gained notoriety for his extreme opinions during the epidemic, characterizing Covid lockdowns as “mass slavery” for the bishop.
