Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was preaching at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Sydney’s Wakeley district when an attacker walked up to stab him and a second clergyman with a knife.
Details of the Attack
The 15-year-old boy dressed in a dark hoodie sauntered up and suddenly lunged at him, furiously swinging at the elderly clergyman’s head and neck.
Churchgoers sprang into action, running up to the altar and piling on top of the attacker as others placed urgent calls to emergency services.
The attacker was seen smirking at horrified onlookers as he was pinned down after wounding the bishop and several worshippers.
Riot Happens
The stabbing of the bishop caused a riot outside the Good Shepherd Church, with a crowd of onlookers baying for the attacker’s blood.
‘An eye for an eye’ … ‘bring him out’ are the chants angry people are singing.
Police Rise to the Occasion
The New South Wales Public Order riot squad was deployed to the scene to contain the chaos after protesters smashed church windows and launched bottles and bricks at the officers detaining the suspect.
Police was left with no option than to detain him in the in the church until later in the night.
Riot officers were forced to deploy tear gas to repel the protesters as they shuttled the bishop and other injured churchgoers to nearby hospitals for medical treatment.
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Number of Victims
NSW Ambulance said that four people were injured in the incident and had been taken to hospital, while a spokesperson for NSW Police said Bishop Emmanuel suffered ‘non-life threatening injuries’.
However, the stricken bishop being rushed out of the church on a stretcher and bundled into the back of an ambulance.
Also, the attacker severely cut his hand according to police.
