New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb told reporters on Tuesday that Bishop had undergone surgery and was “lucky to be alive”.
A large crowd gathered outside Christ the Good Shepherd Church after the incident, and some clashed with police, throwing bricks and other objects. A number of officers were injured and police vehicles damaged, New South Wales Police said in a statement.
The stabbing attack comes as city residents are still reeling from another attack by a knife-wielding assailant at a busy shopping center on Saturday.
Six people were killed in the attack and more than a dozen others were injured, including a 9-month-old baby whose mother was among those killed. The attacker, identified by police as Joel Cauchi, 40, was fatally shot by a police officer.
Police said Saturday’s attack, which happened not far from Sydney’s popular Bondi Beach, was not linked to terrorism and that Cauchi had a history of mental illness. Investigators are looking into why Cauchi targeted women as he roamed the seven-story mall. An unarmed security guard was also killed.
Mass killings are rare in Australia, where semi-automatic and automatic rifles and shotguns were banned after a 1996 mass shooting.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said Monday’s incident was distressing, coming just days after the stabbing at Bondi Junction. Speaking at a news conference Tuesday morning, he said city residents were “nervous.”
He appealed for calm, urging opposition to any “tit for tat” response to the latest attack, which police said was religiously motivated.
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel ✓ was preaching the Assyrian Bible on Monday at 7 p.m. local time, according to the Christ The Good Shepherd Church Facebook page. In a video widely shared on social media, a person dressed in dark clothing can be seen approaching him and then attacking him several times with a sharp object. The video has not been verified by police or the Washington Post.
Before the video pans to the left, obscuring the view of the attack, members of the congregation can be seen rushing toward the bishop. The attack, filmed live and now deleted from the church’s social networks, lasted less than eight seconds.
The church did not respond to The Post’s request for comment. The bishop has amassed a large following online for his viral sermons extolling “traditional” values and his views on politics and world religions.
Initial police investigations indicate the attack was motivated by “religiously motivated extremism,” Webb said. She said the teen made “religion-centered” comments to the bishop.
Maham Javaid contributed to this report.
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