Two days after a stabbing at a shopping mall rocked Sydney, a bishop was stabbed during a service in the city.
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was conducting the Sunday evening mass at the Assyrian Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, a Sydney suburb, when he was attacked, according to the U.K.’s Guardian.
Graphic video of the incident was shared on social media.
It showed the bishop looking up as a man approached the altar. The man then lunged at the bishop, stabbing him about the face and head.
Members of the congregation then swarmed toward the attacker.
#Breaking: Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel has been stabbed while delivering mass in Sydney’s west. The horrifying incident was streamed on the church’s YouTube page.
More to come. pic.twitter.com/TwsfYrXCj9— 10 News First Sydney (@10NewsFirstSyd) April 15, 2024
Three other people were also stabbed, according to Australia’s ABC News.
It quoted New South Wales police as saying all four victims had sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Should churches increase security measures?
Police said one man has been arrested, according to Newsweek.
“A police operation is underway in Wakeley, following reports of a stabbing. Officers attached to Fairfield City Police Area Command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number of people were stabbed. Officers arrested a male and he is assisting police with inquiries,” New South Wales police said.
The church is popular with 196,000 subscribers to its YouTube page.
The U.K.’s Daily Mail reported that the attack triggered unrest as crowds turned on police outside the church in the aftermath of the stabbing.
SYDNEY
‘BRING HIM OUT!’
Aussie Christians demand police give them TERRORIST who STABBED bishop and priest pic.twitter.com/2K9MAATjQn
— Catholic Arena (@CatholicArena) April 15, 2024
On Friday, Joe Cauchi, 40, went on a stabbing rampage at a Sydney mall, killing six people, five of whom were women, according to police.
A 9-month-old girl who was stabbed in the attack that killed her mother underwent emergency surgery, according to The Sun, and is now reportedly “doing well.”
