Melbourne, Australia — Four teenagers plotted to buy guns and attack Jews days after a bishop was stabbed in a Sydney church, according to police documents cited in media reports Monday.
Five teenagers, aged between 14 and 17, were charged in a Sydney court last Thursday with various offenses including conspiracy to commit or plan a terrorist act.
Police said they “all adhered to violent, religiously motivated extremist ideology” and were part of a network that included a 16-year-old boy accused of stabbing Assyrian Orthodox bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel on April 15 while a church service was streamed online. .
According to a police information sheet given to the Sydney Children’s Court, two of the defendants charged last week discussed purchasing firearms on April 19, the same day the alleged attacker Bishop was charged, News Corp Australia newspapers reported.
Gun ownership is heavily restricted in Australia under strict national laws, but there is a black market for firearms in Sydney.
Four of the boys charged last week – a 15-year-old, a 16-year-old and two 17-year-olds – allegedly used the encrypted messaging app Signal to plan their attack.
“I want to die and I want to kill…I’m just excited…Are you planning to get caught, die or escape?” a 17-year-old reportedly said on April 20 during a ‘a group discussion.
The 16-year-old reportedly replied: “We will plan for a while… we prefer to escape, but whatever happens, it is the qadr (predetermination) of Allah,” the newspapers reported.
The 15-year-old reportedly said on Signal on April 19: “I really want to target the yahood,” meaning Jewish people.
The 16-year-old reportedly said of the church attacker: “I know the guy who did it” and “he’s my friend.”
The New South Wales Police media unit told The Associated Press on Monday it could not confirm the accuracy of the information or provide a copy of the police fact sheet.
The Sydney Children’s Court did not immediately respond to a request for documents.
Lawyer Ahmed Dib, who represents two of the boys charged last week, said he had not read the newspaper article and could not comment on its accuracy.
The boy accused of stabbing Emmanuel and a priest has been charged with committing a terrorist act, a crime punishable by a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The Rev. Isaac Royel was released from the hospital with a bandaged hand and shoulder days after the attack.
Emmanuel delivered his first sermon on Sunday since the assassination at Christ the Good Shepherd Church.
He wore an eyepatch over his right eye to cover a knife wound and was applauded by his congregation.
“This young man who committed this act almost two weeks ago, I tell you, my dear, you are my son and you will always be my son,” said the 53-year-old cleric in comments published on the networks social.
“I will always pray for you. I will always wish you only the best,” Emmanuel added.
The boy’s parents, in an interview with Australian Broadcasting Corp., said their son was violent and likely suffered from autism spectrum disorder, but they said he was not a terrorist.
The parents were in hiding for fear of reprisals after riots broke out around the church hours after the stabbing.
The ABC also reported that the son liked online videos of al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden, and that the boy’s WhatsApp profile picture was an image of bin Laden.
ABC News
