By The opinion
Apr 17, 2024, 12:15 PM EDT
Just a few days after a man stabbed 6 people to death in a Sydney shopping center, another violent event occurred in the same city, but in this case it took place in a church.
It was an attack against a priest while a religious ceremony was taking place at the Assyrian Church of the Good Shepherd, located in the Wakeley district of Sydney.
The images of the brutal attack by a man armed with a knife were recorded because The event was broadcast live on social networks.
In the video you can see the moment in which a young man dressed in black approaches the Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and begins to stab him in the presence of the parishioners, some of whom scream while others try to stop the attack.
NOUVELLE ATTAQUE AU COUTEAU À SYDNEY
L’évêque australien Mar Mari Emmanuel a été attaqué lors d’un service à l’église Christ the Good Shepherd.
Cet évêque est connu pour s’être opposé aux vaccines et à la plandemie mais également pour supporter les palestiniens à Gaza et être… pic.twitter.com/aQe43VBopU
— Black Bond PTV (@BlackBondPtv) April 15, 2024
After several attempts they managed to subdue the aggressor, but not before another priest identified as Isaac Royeltwo police officers and the attacker himself, according to the Los Angeles Times.
In a message on social media, the church noted that the bishop and priest were in stable condition in a hospital and asked its faithful to pray. “It is the wish of the bishop and the father that they also pray for the perpetrator”the statement said.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Mar Mari Emmanuel has thousands of followers on social media, and became popular during the COVID-19 pandemic for her ultra-conservative sermons against vaccines and the LGBT community.
Attack would be a terrorist act
The Australian Police confirmed this Tuesday that the attack on the Assyrian church in Sydney It was a “terrorist” act with religious motivationsand called on the local population to remain calm.
“After considering all the material, I declared that it was a terrorist incident,” said New South Wales State Police Commissioner Karen Webb at a press conference.
The suspect in the attack was “known to the Police,” according to Webb, but he assured that he was not on any terrorist watch list.
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