Sydney Police Say Knife Attack Inside Church Was Terrorism

The city of Sydney has had more than its share of knife violence in the past week. Last week there was a stabbing at a mall carried out by a man with mental health problems. However, the NY Post reported yesterday that attacker Joel Cauchi may have planned the attack in advance.

Mass murderer Joel Cauchi Googled knives and “how to kill” before he stabbed six people to death at Bondi Westfield on Saturday.

Cauchi, a paranoid schizophrenic, had a “fixation with killing” and a “fixation with knives” police reportedly told A Current Affair crime editor Simon Bouda.

“Initially, everyone thought this was a man suffering from schizophrenia whose mind has snapped, words in his head,” Bouda explained on Monday night’s ACA.

“I have learned today that the investigators have been able to download data from his phone, which has indicated that he had a fixation with killings.

Yesterday there was another knife attack inside a church and today authorities have said this attack was terrorism.

Australian police have declared Monday’s stabbing at a Sydney church a religiously motivated “terrorist act”.

A 16-year-old boy was arrested after a bishop, a priest and churchgoers were attacked during mass at the Assyrian Christ The Good Shepherd Church.

At least four people suffered “non-life-threatening” injuries, police say. The attacker was also hurt…

Australian police define terror offences as being ideologically motivated. Investigations are still under way, but they say they are satisfied this is a case of religious extremism.

So they haven’t revealed the religion of the 16-year-old attacker but there is at least one eyewitness who says the teen was saying “Allahu Akbar” during the attack. (This clip contains video of the attack.)

Videographer @Chriscoveries was outside the Sydney church where a bishop and others were stabbed. He interviews a witness who claims the unidentified assailant repeatedly praised Allah in the attack. https://t.co/wowUNStxb7 https://t.co/NZc0jvAU4B

— Andy Ngô 🏳️‍🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) April 15, 2024

Why target this church? Apparently the bishop there is pretty outspoken about his views on Islam.

Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel is a prominent conservative leader of the Assyrian Orthodox Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley in Western Sydney.

The 53-year-old sustained lacerations to his head after being lunged at during a mass service at the church that was being broadcast online, with the NSW police commissioner saying he underwent surgery and was “lucky to be alive”…

He has also given sermons criticising non-Christian religions, including Judaism and Islam.

In another he said that “Islam flourished and expanded with the sword”.

Here’s a longer video showing the attacker being held down by police inside the church. He reportedly says (in Arabic), “If they didn’t insult my prophet I wouldn’t have come here.”

Watch: An eyewitness video shows the moment Australian police hold down 15-year-old suspect following the stabbing at Sydney church.#Australia #Sydney #Stabbing

Read more: https://t.co/KRcmv4ZY7t pic.twitter.com/lRhGOBhdZD

— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) April 16, 2024

Because the stabbing was captured on the church’s livestream, hundreds of people came from the nearby community and surrounded the church where the assailant was still being held inside.

An angry crowd chants “bring him out” waiting for the suspect caught on livestream stabbing their Bishop Mar Mari inside their church. pic.twitter.com/zxRNb5tOTE

— Chriscoveries (@Chriscoveries) April 15, 2024

Police kept the crowd out but a couple of officers were injured, including one who was hit in the face with a brick. A bunch of police cars were also vandalized in what basically became a riot.

🚨Police cars are being ransacked as riots break out outside the church in Wakeley were the #stabbing of Bishop Mari Mari has just occurred.

Western Sydney is rising. pic.twitter.com/SpVofTgPu6

— Aussie Cossack (@aussiecossack) April 15, 2024

There are reports that the attackers fingers were all cut off by the crowd inside the church:

Police have not commented on reports that the boy’s fingers were severed by parishioners in the Orthodox Assyrian church in suburban Wakeley, but confirmed his hand injuries were “severe.”

Video of the attack spread quickly on social media and an angry mob converged on the church demanding vengeance. They hurled bricks, bottles and fence boards at police, who temporarily barricaded the boy inside the church for his own safety. Many in the crowd chanted “an eye for an eye” and “bring him out.”..

The church said in a statement on Tuesday it “denounced retaliation of any kind.” Police stood guard around mosques in parts of Sydney on Tuesday after reports that text messages were circulating urging the Assyrian Christian community to retaliate against Muslims.

Finally, here’s a video I found of the bishop criticizing Islam. This is apparently the kind of thing that inspired this act of terror.

The probable reason for Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel being stabbed by a Muslim in Sydney. It is for being critical of Islam.

In the Quran, Jesus is a prophet who was never crucified, the Bishop explains why this is tantamount to blasphemy.

“The moment you deny the divinity of… pic.twitter.com/mba8fhsv4F

— David Atherton (@DaveAtherton20) April 16, 2024