A teenage boy has been arrested after a bishop and a priest were stabbed during a church service in Sydney which was being streamed online, police said.
At least four people were injured in the attack, with a video online appearing to show Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel being repeatedly stabbed in the head and upper body during the service at the Christ the Good Shepherd church.
In the footage, members of the congregation scream and rush to stop it.
Police said a 15-year-old has been arrested and the attack was being treated as a terror incident.
Image: The attack happened at the Orthodox Assyrian church in Sydney. Pic: AP
It comes after six people were killed during a stabbing attack at a shopping centre in Sydney on Saturday. The attacker was shot dead by an officer who confronted him on her own.
After the church attack, a crowd of hundreds gathered outside the building, hurling bricks and bottles and preventing police from taking the teen outside, officials said.
Police reinforcements arrived before the teen was taken from the church in the hours-long incident.
Image: Officers stand guard outside the church. Pic: AP
Acting Assistant Police Commissioner Andrew Holland said Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and priest Isaac Royel, the teen and at least two police officers were taken to hospital but there were no life-threatening injuries.
Several police vehicles were damaged, Holland added.
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The church said in a message on social media that the bishop and priest were in stable condition and asked for people’s prayers.
“It is the bishop’s and father’s wishes that you also pray for the perpetrator,” the statement said.
The teenager was removed from the church and taken to hospital, where he received surgery for injuries suffered during the alleged attack, police said. The boy remains under police guard.
Holland said the boy suffered “severe” hand injuries after being asked if the teenager’s fingers had been severed.
Source : Sky News
