Following a knife attack at a Sydney shopping centre last Saturday (April 13) afternoon, three people were stabbed in another knife attack at a Sydney church last night (April 15). The police have characterized the incident as a "terrorist act".
The incident took place at Christ The Good Shepherd Church of the Assyrian Orthodox Church in Wakeley, southwest of Sydney, when Mass was being broadcast live, when a man suddenly approached the bishop who was preaching, stabbed the bishop with a knife, and the congregation rushed up to subdue the man.
Three people were injured in the chaos, the 53-year-old bishop had a laceration to his head and a 39-year-old man was also cut and injured in the shoulder while trying to stop it. The man who committed the attack was arrested on the spot, he was 16 years old, his finger was injured and needed surgery, he was "taken out of the church and taken to an undisclosed location".
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has been informed of the identity of the attacker, but has chosen not to disclose his name. It is reported that he appeared in court three months ago for a knife crime and was released on good conduct bail.
After the incident, when the police were dealing with the scene, a large number of angry people arrived at the scene, and the number quickly increased from about 50 to hundreds, who threw stones at the police, jumped into the police car, and demanded that the police hand over the suspected culprit.
The police dispatched dozens of police vehicles and more than 100 police officers to the scene to reinforce and disperse with pepper spray, and two police officers were hit and injured by hard objects.
Police have set up two commando teams to investigate the stabbing incident and the subsequent mass violence.
Hundreds of people gathered to riot, and the scene got out of control for a while
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the rioters attacked police officers who rushed to the scene after receiving a call, and the riot outside the church "spiraled out of control" and the chaos lasted for two hours.
"This is unacceptable, and those involved in the riots may be punished," Webb said.
"Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but we will find you and arrest you. ”
NSW Police said a police officer was hit by a metal object during the riot, sprained his knee and lost his teeth. Another officer was hit by bricks and a fence and suffered a broken jaw.
Someone in the crowd vandalized nearby houses and threw dismantled objects at the police and churches.
The police mobilized a large number of reinforcements, and the operation did not end until just after midnight.
NSW Ambulance Commissioner Dominic Morgan said ambulance crews had treated 30 injured people outside the church last night.
As the riots continued, paramedics were "trapped inside the church" for three and a half hours.
"Six of our healthcare workers were unable to leave the church because they feared their safety would be threatened by the communities they helped. I agree with the words of the Chief of Police. This is just too much. ”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke this morning condemning last night's riots.
"It is unacceptable to obstruct and harm police officers who are performing their official duties.
"People shouldn't enforce the law on their own. Instead, our police and security agencies should be allowed to do their job. ”
He said the government understands the community's pain and concerns, especially after the tragic incident of the knife attack on Saturday.
Albanese is also concerned about the role social media plays in these serious incidents.
"We remain concerned about the role of social media, including the posting of videos that can be very harmful, especially for young people who have access to them. ”
"Religious extremism" terrorist incidents
It was the second knife attack in Sydney in three days.
NSW Premier Chris Minns held a press conference early this morning and said it was very sad that the mall stabbing had happened only a few days ago, and that it had happened last night, saying that Sydney was now "panicking".
He said the police informed him in the early hours of this morning, characterizing the incident as a "terrorist act."
NSW Police Chief Karen Webb said she had a more than hour-long meeting with the Counter Terrorism Team this morning about last night's incident.
"What influenced my decision to declare this incident a terrorist incident was the person who attended the church," she said...... We will accuse him of stabbing the bishop and the priest with a knife. We believe that from the point of view of religious extremism, this incident is consistent with this characterization. ”
Webb said police had questioned the attackers, but it was not appropriate to comment further at this time. But she said the bishop who was stabbed was "lucky" to be alive.
Webb said police knew something about the attacker, but he wasn't "famous."
"From a terrorist point of view, we don't know him and he's not on any terrorist watchlist."
"This is the first time this person has come to our attention in this way. ”
She said he was believed to have acted alone. Police have contacted the man's parents, and Webb said investigators will investigate his whereabouts prior to the attack.
The federal police, intelligence agencies and NSW Police will join forces to investigate
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that the National Security Council will meet in Canberra this morning.
He said he was briefed by intelligence agencies this morning.
"This incident is extremely worrying. I urge the community to remain calm. ”
"Our communities will not tolerate violence, and violent extremism will not be tolerated. ”
Mike Burgess, head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), said the ASIO supported NSW Police in characterising the attack as a terrorist incident.
"It does look like it's religiously motivated, but we're continuing to investigate," Burgess said. ”
"At the same time, we will investigate those associated with the attackers to ensure that no one else in the community has similar intentions," he said.
"At this stage, we don't see any signs of that. But for the sake of caution, we must do so to determine that there is no threat or a direct threat to security. ”
Burgess also explained why the church attack was characterized as a terrorist attack, while last Saturday's mall attack was not.
"To put it simply, to call it an act of terror, you need to have indications, information, or evidence that the motive is actually religious or ideological.
"In Saturday's case, this was not the case. ”
Australian Federal Police (AFP) Chief Reece Kershaw said the attack had a significant impact on Australian society.
"I would like to assure the Australian community that the Australian Federal Police and its law enforcement partners, in particular the Joint Counter Terrorism Team, are working to investigate this incident from all angles. ”
"The Australian Federal Police will continue to investigate the circumstances of this incident and those involved, together with the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and NSW Police. ”
Kershaw said it was through surveillance or other means, such as Five Eyes partners, to understand what was happening in Australian society and globally.
John Coyne, a defence strategy expert at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), said it was "extraordinary" that authorities had launched a terrorist investigation into the incident so quickly.
"It seems to me that they [the police] must have had some very clear evidence of the motives of the attackers, and it is very likely that the attackers made some statements at the time of the attack or immediately after it. ”