Sydney: Australian police said Tuesday that a deadly knife attack at a church service was an act of religious “terrorism” as they demanded calm from angry local communities.
Two men were stabbed late on Monday after a 16-year-old suspect entered an Assyrian Christian church in Sydney’s west.
The angry mob was quickly subdued and then arrested by the police.
He was “known to the police” but not on the terror watch list, a senior official said.
“After reviewing all the material, I have declared this a terrorist incident,” New South Wales Police Chief Karen Webb said at a press conference.
Webb said the attack was believed to be an act of religious “extremism” that terrorized the community and that the victims were “lucky to be alive”.
The head of Australia’s top intelligence agency said the suspect appeared to have acted alone and said there was no need to increase the terror threat in the country.
“At this stage it appears to be the actions of one person,” Mike Burgess, head of the Australian Security Research Organisation, said in rare public comments.
Three other people were treated for non-stab wounds as a result of the attack, and about 30 others were treated after a disturbance outside the church.
For three hours, more than 500 protesters clashed with police, who struggled to keep the crowd at bay and detain the youths.
He is currently being held at an unknown location and is said to have suffered a stab wound. Authorities believe he is 15 years old.
An AFP reporter saw riot shields and guns fired in front of police late Monday, who eventually chased protesters away from the church.
20 police vehicles and several houses were damaged when protesters pelted bottles, bricks and other objects.
A police officer was “hit by a metal object, his knee was bent and his teeth were bitten,” police said.
Eventually, peace was restored, but more officers were deployed to protect local religious buildings. In a statement on Tuesday, the church said the victim, Bishop Mar Marie Emmanuel, was in good condition and “recovering”.
