By Hanae
Edited by Izyan Nazihah
SYDNEY, 15th April 2024: Authorities arrested a teenager in the suburbs of Sydney following a stabbing incident inside a church that left a Christian bishop and multiple others injured.
Police confirmed the detention of a 15-year-old boy in connection with the shocking attack, which occurred while the bishop was conducting a service and was being observed both in-person and via livestream.
Andrew Holland, the acting assistant police commissioner of New South Wales, stated that the suspect was receiving medical attention for injuries to his hand. Following the attack, authorities transported the teenager to a secure facility, prompting an irate gathering of church supporters outside the premises.
Earlier, authorities stated that officers were dispatched to an address in the town of Wakeley in response to reports of multiple people being stabbed.
A statement from the police, which was shared with CBS News, stated. "Officers arrested a male and he is assisting police with inquiries. The injured people suffered non-life threatening injuries and are being treated by New South Wales Ambulance paramedics.”
A video circulating on social media depicts a man dressed in black approaching a bishop standing at an altar and seemingly stabbing him multiple times. The footage shows individuals screaming and hurrying towards the assailant after the assault.
The location described by the police in their statement matches the address of Christ The Good Shepherd Church, an Assyrian Christian church.
The news of the attack surfaced on Monday while Australia was still grappling with the aftermath of a tragic incident on Saturday, where an attacker fatally stabbed six individuals at a bustling Sydney shopping centre before being shot dead by a police officer. According to BBC News, authorities mentioned that the assailant in Saturday's attack seemed to have specifically targeted women.
According to The Associated Press, the bishop of the church, which broadcasts its services live online, gained national attention last year when the Australian Broadcasting Corporation spotlighted it in a report concerning a campaign directed towards the LGBTQ+ community.
During a May 2023 Australian TV report, the bishop, known on the church's website as Mar Mari Emmanuel, was recorded delivering a sermon where he stated that "when a man calls himself a woman, he is neither a man nor a woman, you are not a human, then you are an it. Now, since you are an it, I will not address you as a human anymore because it is not my choosing, it your choosing."
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