Bishop and several worshippers stabbed multiple times at West Sydney church, riot police called

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

A Christian leader and several worshippers have been stabbed multiple times during a church service in Sydney, with the attack broadcast live on YouTube.

The alleged perpetrator, a 15-year-old, was arrested and taken to an undisclosed location by police as an angry crowd gathered outside the church.

It comes just two days since a man armed with a knife murdered six people in a Bondi mall.

NSW Premier Chris Minns urged calm on Monday night after the stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel at the Assyrian Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley - an incident broadcast on the church’s livestream.

“Those violent pictures are probably what caused the uproar in the community - people saw that, responded and unfortunately we ended up with a public order incident,” NSW acting Assistant Commissioner Andrew Holland told reporters.

Graphic video of the incident showed a man dressed in a black hoodie approaching the Bishop and stabbing him multiple times in the head, neck and back.

Screams could be heard as other worshippers rush to the bishop’s aid as he fell to the floor. Three worshippers were also stabbed in a resulting confrontation.

Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel of the Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, NSW was stabbed during a church service last night. Image / Christ the Good Shepherd Church

Churchgoers can be seen rushing to the victim’s aid. The video has now been removed from YouTube.

Daily Mail Australia said Christ The Good Shepherd Church had almost 200,000 subscribers on its channel.

At least four people have been injured in the attack.

Minns said the scene was disturbing but urged calm, adding that he convened a meeting of faith leaders representing religious communities across western Sydney late on Monday night, AAP reports.

Posted by Christ The Good Shepherd Church on Monday, April 15, 2024

He said they “endorsed and supported a unanimous condemnation of violence in any form, called for the community to follow first responder and police instructions and called for calm in the community”.

“We’re calling on everyone to act with kindness and respect for each other,” he said.

Multiple police and ambulance crews raced to the scene, with NSW Police confirming they responded to reports of a stabbing and one man had been taken into custody.

”Officers arrested a male and he is assisting police with inquiries,” a statement said.

In his press conference Acting Commissioner Holland said parishioners had held the teenager down until police arrived. Police had held him in the church for his own safety before taking him to another location.

NSW Ambulance said they were called to the church about 7.15pm and sent multiple paramedics to the scene.

NSW Police said two clergyman were taken to hospital.

The church said Bishop Emmanuel and a senior priest were in a stable condition and also appealed for calm.

Police urged members of the public to avoid the area.

There was no indication last night’s event was linked to the Bondi mall attacks, 9News said.

Vision has emerged of a bishop being stabbed during a service in Sydney. Photo / X

7News reported NSW Ambulance were treating four patients.

Two men aged in their 50s and 30s had multiple lacerations.

A man in his 20s was being treated with a laceration on his hand and a man in his 60s with a laceration on his arm, 7News reported.

The men suffered non-life threatening injuries.

A statement posted to social media by the church said the bishop and a second man, Father Isaac Royel, were in a stable condition in hospital.

“We ask for your prayers at this time. It is the Bishop’s and Father’s wishes that you also pray for the perpetrator.”

Father Isaac Royel of the Christ the Good Shepherd Church was among those hurt in the stabbing attack. Photo / Christ the Good Shepherd Church

Riot police called in, two officers hurt

A huge angry crowd of protesters gathered outside the church, with video showing some shouting for police to stop protecting “the terrorist”. Estimates range from hundreds to up to 2000 people gathered outside.

Hundreds of police were called to disperse the crowd, with two officers hurt and a number of police cars damaged.

NSW Police said they had launched a “wide-scale operation [due to] a public order incident at the location”.

“A constable was hit with a metal object and sustained a twisted knee and a chipped tooth. Another constable sustained a broken jaw after he was hit with a brick and a fence paling,” police said.

Both were taken to hospital for treatment.

Videos posted online showed angry protesters outside the church yelling and bashing ambulance windows. A crowd also gathered outside the local hospital where some of the patients were taken, resulting in the hospital going into lockdown.

Screenshot of video showing riotous crowds outside the Christ the Good Shepherd Church following the stabbing attack.

Second mass stabbing to hit Sydney in two days

It comes just two days after Joel Cauchi, 40, stabbed six people to death and wounded at least 12 others in a knife rampage at the Westfield Bondi Junction mall.

He was shot dead by a police officer after lunging at her with a knife.

He killed Dawn Singleton, 25, Ash Good, 38, Faraz Ahmed Tahir, 30, Jade Young, 47, Pikria Darchia, 55 and Yixuan Cheng, 27.

Knife-wielding attacker named as Joel Cauchi of Queensland on an escalator at the Westfield Bondi Junction Mall in Sydney.

Yesterday police described Cauchi’s troubled past. He had a history of mental health treatment and was diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teenager. Police also said he was estranged from his family.

“I’m loving a monster,” the attacker’s father Andrew Cauchi told Australian media. “To you, he’s a monster but to me, he was a very sick boy.”

His mother, Michele Cauchi, told the Mail she believed her son attacked women during his rampage “because he wanted a girlfriend and he’s got no social skills”.

His parents phoned police to offer information when they recognised him on television news coverage of the attack.

They were due to be formally interviewed as part of police investigations.

Andrew Cauchi, father of Bondi shopping mall killer Joel Cauchi, at his home in Toowoomba. Photo / Daily Mail Australia

”I’m extremely sorry, I’m heartbroken for you,” Andrew Cauchi told news.com outside his Rangeville home, about 130km west of Brisbane.

”This is so horrendous I can’t even explain it. I’m just devastated, I love my son.”

Bondi mall killer’s dark past

Details have emerged about Cauchi’s past, including an instance in which he called police on his family after they took away his knives in 2020.

He had also posted on social media asking to meet people who shoot guns.

In his last social media post hours before the massacre, Cauchi said he was going surfing at Bondi Beach and wanted to meet people there.

The Daily Mail earlier reported Cauchi worked as a male escort and sold sexual services online.

He offered “closed-door” services to men and women, as well as other options the Mail would not publish due to their graphic nature.

He advertised on several websites, Australia Cracker, Empire Escorts and Escorts Australia.

New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb said there was “no ideological motive” behind Cauchi’s frenzied attack.

But she and Queensland Health, the state’s public health service, confirmed he had a history of mental health treatment and was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was 17.