The bishop of a Christian community is attacked at mass – by a 16-year-old. An angry mob then moves to the church and the situation escalates. The Prime Minister warns against vigilantism.
With a knife attack on the bishop of the Assyrian community in Sydney, a teenager sparked serious riots in the Australian coastal metropolis. After his act was broadcast live on the Internet and was quickly classified as a terrorist attack by investigators, an angry mob marched in front of the church in the western suburb of Wakeley on Monday evening (local time). The situation escalated, dozens of rioters quickly turned into hundreds who fought street battles with the police.
The following day, the Prime Minister, who was recently confronted with a fatal knife attack in a shopping center, looks back on another night of violence and appeals to his compatriots not to resort to vigilantism. But what exactly happened – and how did it happen?
In the early evening, when it is already dark outside, Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel holds a mass at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley. It’s impossible to say how many believers are following the ceremony via livestream – but what they see will undoubtedly cause horror in the Christian community, whose history stretches back to ancient Mesopotamia.
A teenager, just 16 years old according to police reports, runs towards the bearded bishop. In his hand: the murder weapon, apparently a folding knife. The teenager stabbed the bishop’s head and upper body several times and also seriously injured a priest who rushed to help. Eyewitnesses rush forward and overwhelm the boy with the distinctive cheek beard.
Police assume “religiously motivated extremism”.
It’s not hard to imagine how emotions are running high at this moment. When the police arrive and arrest the perpetrator, he himself has to be operated on in hospital with serious injuries. According to media reports, several of his fingers were cut off. When asked by journalists whether the angry mob was responsible, the New South Wales police chief later replied that it was part of the investigation.
However, one is certain about the teenager’s motive: everything points to “religiously motivated extremism,” said Police Chief Karen Webb. The boy obviously acted alone, was already known to the police, but was not suspected of terrorism. According to the ABC broadcaster, he had already committed several crimes and was experienced in using knives.
“Suddenly they found themselves in the line of fire.”
Bishop and priest underwent surgery after the attack and were “lucky to be alive,” Webb said. The emergency services who rushed to help the injured were also afraid for their lives. In view of the angry crowd in front of the church, the paramedics barricaded themselves in the church and did not dare go outside for hours, while the police officers outside the door, who were far outnumbered, were targeted by the rioters. “Suddenly they found themselves in the line of fire,” said Webb. “50 people became 500 people, and for a few hours the situation was pretty uncontrollable.”
The officers were attacked with bricks and fence posts, several were injured, and one police officer suffered a broken jaw. 20 emergency vehicles were damaged and ten are no longer operational. According to their own information, the emergency services had to treat a total of 30 patients, many of whom had received pepper spray, and seven injured people were taken to hospital. Only with reinforcements from advancing hundreds and special units did the security forces regain the upper hand.
In Australia, where the police enjoy great respect and are known for their strict enforcement, such scenes are rare. The morning after the night of violence, Webb promised that security authorities would investigate all perpetrators of violence. “All those involved in these riots can expect that we will be knocking on their door. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but we will find you and we will arrest you.”
The head of government warns against vigilantism
The chaos in Wakeley is also causing so much upheaval in the metropolis of Sydney because many people are still under the impression of the recent events in the east of the city. A mentally ill man stabbed passers-by with a knife in a shopping center on Saturday, killing six people. Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese now tried even harder to smooth things over. Given the recent events, he can well understand that people are unsettled and worried. “But it is unacceptable to prevent and injure police officers from doing their work.”
The Assyrian community was in turmoil, security forces were in distress – and another group also felt threatened that night: the Muslim minority. Religious institutions in western Sydney were “secured by hundreds, if not thousands of police officers” as a precautionary measure due to fears of retaliation, said New South Wales Prime Minister Chris Minns.
The imam of the mosque in the Lakemba district reported that after the attack on the bishop there was a threat of a firebomb attack on the Islamic place of worship. “I am concerned that this is being treated as a Muslim issue,” Jamal-Ud-Din El-Kiki was quoted as saying in Australian media. “But it’s about a teenager with a knife who decided to commit a terrible act.”
Police press release ABC live ticker Live ticker from the “Sydney Morning Herald”