A 16-year-old was charged with terrorism on Thursday over a stabbing incident that occurred in a Sydney church, Australia. The teen, previously known to the police, had gate-crashed a live event at the Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley and attacked the Bishop along with several worshippers. As stated by the police, religious extremism emerged as a potential motive behind this horrifying event.
Following the arrest of the accused, a large crowd assembled outside the church demanding the police retreat. Owing to the ferocity of the crowd, the situation escalated into a massive riot. The consequent riots led to further arrests, inflicted substantial damages to the locale and police equipment, and caused injuries to approximately 51 officers. The riots remain under police scrutiny as key instigators have been identified.
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, among the convalescent victims, expressed forgiveness towards his attacker through the church’s social media. They urged a peaceful resolution from their community members and anticipated justice to be served by the police.
This is second to the other stabbing incident that took place in Australia within a short span of seven days that ended in the police shooting a man dead for murdering six people in a shopping mall. Such extreme public offences took the nation by a shock. In a subsequent interview, the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called for calm and persuaded the public to bestow their trust in the ongoing police investigations.