Chilling vision shows the teenager who allegedly stabbed a prominent Sydney bishop smiling and taunting the group of men holding him down on the ground.
Police allege a 15-year-old male attacked Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel at the Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley at about 7.10pm last night.
The alleged attacker could be heard screaming “Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar” in a clip taken from a live stream of the sermon that captured the terrifying moment.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the incident has been declared a terrorist attack, alleging that elements show it was “religiously motivated extremism”.
The alleged attacker, wearing a black hoodie, calmly approached the Assyrian orthodox Christian leader and stabbed him at least eight times in the head, neck and torso.
The live stream camera panned away, as people could be heard screaming.
Teen pinned to the ground
Several worshippers leapt to their feet and rushed towards the teen, tackling him to the ground and pinning him down.
During the scuffle, parish priest Father Isaac Royel was also stabbed. He and the bishop remain in hospital with serious injuries.
A video capturing the immediate aftermath shows the alleged attacker being held face down on the ground.
A rough translation of the audio indicates the men asked the alleged attacker if his actions were religiously motivated.
One of the men holding him down strikes him in the back of the head and says in English: “While people are praying, you’re gonna do this? You’re gonna f***ing do this?”
A New South Wales Police officer wearing plastic gloves pleads with the crowd to stop, saying: “Please, you’re gonna make it worse.”
When his face is revealed and a man sees he’s smiling, he yells: “You’re a f***ing idiot. Laughing? You’re a f***ing idiot. You’re gonna cop it. You’re gonna get …”
At this point, it appears someone off camera kicks at the alleged attacker, to which he replies: “You think that hurt, my brother? You think that hurt?
This morning, Ms Webb said investigations indicate the male’s alleged actions were “religiously motivated”.
Rumour teen’s fingers ‘cut off’
A separate image circulating on social media of the male shows him handcuffed and sitting on a toilet, with his right hand bandaged.
Another unverified and graphic photograph shared on Telegram purports to show the teen’s severed finger. Police could not comment on the authenticity of the image.
Word quickly swirled among the crowd and on social media that the teen’s fingers had been chopped off by members of the mob but this claim is unverified and it’s possible he was injured during the scuffle.
A witness inside indicated the alleged attacker’s flick knife might not have been completely open. Ms Webb said police also believe a flick knife was allegedly used.
He was eventually removed from the church and underwent surgery. He is being held at an undisclosed location for security and public safety reasons.
When asked last night, NSW Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Andrew Holland confirmed the teen had sustained “quite severe” injuries.
“Reports are that he has injuries to his hands – I don’t know the extent of those injuries at this point,” Mr Holland said.
“His injuries are quite severe in his hand, he’s fairly upset and fairly distraught.”
This morning, Ms Webb could not confirm how the teen’s fingers were injured. He has undergone surgery at an undisclosed location.
Alleged terrorist attack
Ms Webb met with counter-terrorism officials this morning for an hour, with the incident being treated as an alleged act of terrorism.
Ms Webb said there are indications the alleged attack was an act of religiously motivated extremism and premeditated.
“We believe there are elements that [indicate] religiously motivated extremism,” Ms Webb said.
The male does not live near the church, she said.
In another video circulating on social media, one of the men who helped to hold the teen down tells a female officer that he “ran and grabbed him from behind and just pushed him down”.
“He kept saying: ‘Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar’,” he tells the officer.
This is yet to be independently confirmed, however Ms Webb said the teen allegedly made religious comments during and after the attacker.
Chaos and mayhem outside
A furious mob of an estimated 2000 men descended on the church, with a riot breaking out and responding police struggling to restore order.
Bricks, rocks, fence palings and other items were pelted at officers and a number were injured, with about a dozen police cars damaged in the mayhem.
Paramedics responding to the attack under threat and were forced to shelter inside the church for more than three hours.
Police Commissioner Karen Webb vowed: “Those involved can expect to be prosecuted.”
Federal MP Dai Le, whose electorate takes in Wakely, described the scenes as “chaotic”.
“It was too chaotic, and I think it was too emotional last night for the people who heard about what happened to the Bishop,” Me Le told Sunrise.
Liverpool Hospital was place in lockdown when another large crowd converged there.