2024 Wakeley church stabbing
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (April 2024) |
| 2024 Wakeley church stabbing | |
|---|---|
 Map indicating the location of the incident | |
| Location | Christ The Good Shepherd Church, Wakeley, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Coordinates | 33°52′22″S 150°54′22″E / 33.8728°S 150.9062°E |
| Date | 15 April 2024 7:15pm [1] – (Australian Eastern Standard Time, UTC+10:00)) |
Attack type | Mass stabbing |
| Weapon | Knife |
| Deaths | 0 |
| Injured | 7 (including perpetrator) |
| Perpetrator | 1 (Arrested) |
| Motive | Unknown |
On 15 April 2024, in Wakeley, a western suburb of Sydney, Australia, an assailant entered the Christ The Good Shepherd Assyrian church and stabbed six people, including bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel. It was the second mass stabbing in the city in three days, following the 2024 Bondi Junction stabbings.
Background
Wakeley hosts a small Christian Assyrian community, many of whom are refugees from Iraq and Syria.[2] A bishop since 2011, Mar Mari Emanuel was a prominent critic of lockdowns and vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] He also espoused conservative stances on issues such as LGBT rights.[4]
Events
The stabbings took place at night[5] in the suburb of Wakeley, 34 kilometres south-west of the Sydney CBD.[1] An assailant dressed in black[4] reportedly entered the Christ The Good Shepherd Assyrian church[2] and attacked six people with a knife, starting with the bishop, Mar Mari Emmanuel,[1] who he approached at the altar.[6] According to some testimonies, Mar Mari Emmanuel just had finished speaking about the situation in Gaza when he was attacked.[7]
The event was live-streamed of the bishop preaching.[2] The attacker was subsequently apprehended and taken into custody.[1][2][5][8] The suspect, while currently not named, was reported to be 15 years old.[9]
Aftermath
Casualties
Five people suffered non-life-threatening injuries, including a man in his 20s, a man in his 30s a man in his 60s, another priest named Father Isaac Royel and the Bishop.[4][10] Another man in his 50s who had multiple cuts and said to be in serious condition was taken to Liverpool Hospital,[11][10] which was placed under a partial lockdown.[5] During the events, 11 ambulances were sent to the church.[12]
Riots
Large crowds gathered outside the church and the hospital, where it seemed that the attacker was being held. The crowds clashed with police[12] and attacked police vehicles. Riot police used pepper spray on the tumultuous crowd outside the church with at least two police officers seriously injured.[13]
Reactions
The Christ the Good Shepherd's administration called on people to make prayers for the victims of the attack as well as the perpetrator in accordance with Bishop Emmanuel and Father Isaac's "wishes". It also called on those that had gathered at the church to "leave in peace".[4]
The attack was condemned by other religious groups and organisations including the Australian National Imams Council[3] and the Executive Council of Australian Jewry following a meeting with New South Wales Premier Chris Minns, who also expressed sympathies with victims and emergency services[2] while calling for calm.[3] Muslim leaders in Australia deplored the attack, expressing "profound sadness and shock".[14]
References
- ^ a b c d Vyas, Heloise (15 April 2024). "Four people stabbed at church in Sydney's west including preacher". skynews. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Sydney: Bishop stabbed during sermon - reports". BBC. 15 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
- ^ a b c "Man arrested after stabbing attack at a church service in Sydney, wounding at least four". France 24. 15 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Horrified worshipers watch online and in person as a bishop is stabbed at a church in Sydney". Associated Press. 15 April 2024.
- ^ a b c "Man in custody, four people injured in alleged stabbing incident at Sydney church". ABC News. 15 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
- ^ Touma, Rafqa (15 April 2024). "Sydney church stabbing: multiple people, including bishop, stabbed during mass". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
- ^ i24NEWS (15 April 2024). "Australie : un prêtre poignardé en pleine messe à Sydney, trois autres personnes blessées". I24news (in French). Retrieved 15 April 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Bishop among several people reported stabbed in Sydney church, two days after mall attack". CNN. 15 April 2024.
- ^ https://insiderpaper.com/police-say-15-year-old-arrested-over-australian-church-stabbing/
- ^ a b "Sydney rocked by second stabbing in days as bishop and worshippers targeted at church". The Independent. 15 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
- ^ https://www.9news.com.au/national/stabbing-church-wakeley-western-sydney/95b2c20f-07a3-4849-8781-e2b72a1d99a0
- ^ a b Jackson, Lewis; Qiu, Stella (15 April 2024). "Several injured in Sydney in the second stabbing incident in three days". Reuters.
- ^ Raphael, Angie (15 April 2024). "Bishop allegedly stabbed during service in Sydney, while three others also injured". news.com.au.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/04/15/sydney-church-stabbing-live/
