Sydney church stabbing being investigated as 'terrorist act', authorities say — as it happened (2024)

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Here's a recap of what we have learnt today, following Monday night's stabbing attack at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley:

• NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the stabbing attack at the church had been declared a 'terrorist incident'.
• The 16-year-old who allegedly stabbed the bishop was known to police, but not "well-known", Commissioner Webb said.
• Director-general of ASIO Mike Burgess explained why this particular case had been determined to be a terrorist attack.
• John Coyne, defence strategy expert at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), said the country's terrorism threat is at "possible".
  
• Father Isaac Royel was identified as the second man that had been stabbed in the attack.
• NSW Police confirmed that at least five people were injured in Wakeleyduring the stabbing and the subsequent clash between police and an angry mob.
• NSW Premier Chris Minns told 7.30 that the alleged perpetrator of the knife attack was not suspected to have been radicalised.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland sat down on Afternoon Briefing, to address concerns on the speed and spread of the live streamed stabbing last night.

The mass was broadcast online as many religious services are, which Ms Rowland said was a "positive thing" outside of the circ*mstances.

"It should be recognised that this kind of technology can be used for good effect," she said.

The minister said she was reluctant to draw conclusions about how the live stream may have factored into the attack or crowd surge that formed after during an active investigation.

Violence is considered class one content, and she said the key issue in cases like this "is to get it taken down and get it taken down swiftly".

Ms Rowland said the Online Safety Act is still being reviewed and will address regulations needed for material vulnerable people "should not be seeing".

"The speed and scale of that spread is what is particularly concerning for eSafety," she said.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has told 7.30 the alleged perpetrator of the knife attack was not suspected to have been radicalised.

"He wasn't on a terrorism watch list," Premier Minns said.

"That's important information [and] I understand the community concern.

"New South Wales Police are looking at all avenues particularly radicalisation."

Mr Minns then praised leaders of all faiths for their statements condemning violence.

"Religious leaders across New South Wales from all the major religious traditions including Islam, Christianity, and Coptic Orthodox issued statements in the last 12 hours condemning violence, calling for the community to come together in abhoring both the actions inside the church and outside the church yesterday evening."

Watch the full interview tonight on 7.30 via ABC TV or iview.

Labor MP Tania Lawrence underlines the importance of social cohesion in the aftermath of the Wakeley stabbing attack.

"I think we all need to be careful about what language we use, what inferences we make and avoid making inflammatory comments ... This is too important a time now. We need to pause, be calm and allow the authorities to do their job," she told ABC's Afternoon Briefing.

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The NSW government said it convened a meeting of faith leaders representing religious communities across Sydney's west today.

The signatories all endorsed and supported the statement which calls for calm and peace.

Places of worship are places of peace and prayer. The people who gather there should never feel threatened or unsafe, no matter what religion they follow. As faith leaders representing the diverse religious communities of New South Wales, we stand united against all forms of hate and violence.

Our prayers are with the victims and we call on our communities to extend our message of care and compassion to all.

We have trust in our police and first responders and full confidence in their work. Police should never be attacked for keeping our communities safe. The scenes we witnessed after the attack are unacceptable to anyone, and especially to people of faith.

For people of faith, religion is never a justification for violence.

It has been a very difficult week but we are a strong community in New South Wales.

We call on everyone to act with kindness and respect for each other.

Now is the time to show that we are a caring and united community.

The statement was agreed to by all members of the NSW Faith Affairs Council, including representatives from theAnglican ChurchDiocese of Sydney,Buddhist Councilof NSW,Australian NationalImams Council,Hindu Councilof Australia,Greek OrthodoxArchdiocese of Australia, and more.

Reporting by Hugh Hogan

Australia's eSafety Commissioner said social media companies are not doing enough to stop violent images and videos from spreading online in the wake of two devastating attacks in Sydney in recent days.

Commissioner Julie Inman Grant has legally compelled Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter, to remove violent content spreading on their platforms under powers given to the office in the Online Safety Act.

"I am not satisfied that enough is being done to protect Australians from the most extreme and gratuitous violent material circulating online," Commissioner Grant said.

So far Facebook and X are the only two companies to receive notices, but the commissioner said she would not hesitate to compel more companies and use further legal powers if non-compliance continues.

The independent regulator for online safety has also asked all Australians to not share any material and think critically before commenting and speculating online.

"It is vital that we don't use social media as a tool for division and fear but instead as an instrument of solidarity and social cohesion," she said.

Premier Chris Minns has said he is open to looking at knife laws again following the two stabbing incidents in recent days.

He told 2GB that the NSW government increased knife penalties about six months ago, following the fatal stabbing of paramedic Steven Tougher last April.

"I'm not prepared to rule anything out right now," Mr Minns said.

"Obviously when people are being killed and you've got a situation where a knife is being used then it would be irresponsible not to look at them."

Premier Chris Minns was asked about the teenager's finger injuries, and whether it was accidental or "done to him".

"The information that I have is that it was done in the commission of the alleged crime, not to him," Mr Minns said.

The premier said he spoke to Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel's secretary this afternoon, and said he is doing "a lot better" following his admission to hospital.

"We want him to pull through this … no one should be attacked for celebrating their religion or having a mass on a Monday evening."

As for the police officers who sustained injuries after a crowd surge outside the church, Mr Minns told 2GB the situation was "mixed".

He said he spoke to four of them this afternoon, but two of them were already "back on shift" in a move the premier described as "incredible".

Chris Minns said the incident is being investigated as a "terrorist incident" due to "religiously motivated" language used during the alleged attack.

"I think it's important to note that the designation as a terrorist attack … it unlocks particular changes to legislation to enhance police powers," Mr Minns said on radio station 2GB.

This includes the ability to stop and search vehicles and premises, the premier said.

Chris Minns is speaking on 2GB at the moment, and said he had been briefed on the 16-year-old's previous knife crime.

"NSW Police told me and the crisis committee cabinet this afternoon the circ*mstances relating to that.

"I can understand this is a real community concern and I can assure the public that is a part of the investigation," he said.

The premier said he didn't want to go into the details due to "serious criminal concern" but assured that "if there is action the government needs to take, we will do that".

Labor frontbencher Chris Bowen told Afternoon Briefing that there is no anger from religious leaders about any lack of security at places of worship.

"I've been very impressed with the response of the faith leaders in our community who have been expressing call for calm, that all religions must come together at this time," he said.

"They are not interested in a blame game."

Mr Bowen said there will be increased patrols around places of worship, particularly on key days like Sundays.

"Police are actively and responsively liaising with those [religious] leaders and ensuring that they are aware of the times of different services and events and they are keeping an eye on the situation," he said.

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park has met with healthcare workers across Sydney today.

He described the scenes at Wakeley last night as "incredibly disturbing".

"This is yet another instance in which our brave paramedics have thrown themselves into chaos and danger to provide lifesaving care and treatment," he said.

"The hostility unleashed upon them is particularly heinous and completely unacceptable.

"As health minister my focus right now is on the safety and security of our health workers and the people they are caring for."

When asked why the attack on Monday night in Wakeley was ruled a terrorist attack and the stabbing rampage in Bondi Junction was not, ASIO director-general Mike Burgess told reporters you need indications that suggest the motivation for the attack was religious or ideological.

"In the case of Saturday, that was not the case," Mr Burgess said.

In the case of the Wakeley attack "the information we have and the police have before us indicates that is strongly the case. That is why it was called an act of terrorism."

So who decides what is a terrorist act? What makes a terrorist attack in Australia? And has Australia's terror threat level changed now?

Read the full story by Georgia Roberts here:

ABC reporters Sarah Gerathy and Joseph Hathaway-Wilson have unpacked the emergency worker response at Christ The Good Shepherd Church last night.

You can read about how scenes unfolded, leaving some paramedics "holed up" in the building for nearly four hours here:

Reporting by Jesse Hyland

NSW Police have confirmed there were at least five people injured during the stabbing incident and subsequent clash between police and the angry mob in Wakeley last night.

Three people were injured in the stabbing incident inside the Assyrian Orthodox Church Christ the Good Shepherd Church including 53-year-old Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, who sustained lacerations to the head, a 39-year-old man, who suffered cuts and a shoulder injury, and the 16-year-old boy arrested over the stabbing.

The boy was hospitalised for finger injuries.

Two police officers were injured during the unrest outside the church.

One officer suffered a broken jaw while another received facial and knee injuries.

NSW Police says the state Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT) will investigate the stabbing under Operation Kilchurn.

It comes after Commissioner Karen Webb declared the incident as terror-related earlier today.

The JCTT investigation will include NSW Police, Australian Federal Police (AFP), theAustralian Security Intelligence Organisation(ASIO) and the NSW Crime Commission.

• Anyone with information about extremist activityor possible threats to the community is urged to contact The National Security Hotline on 1800 123 400
• Anyone with information about criminal activityis urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000

According to NSW Health Chief Psychiatrist Murray Wright, feeling wary after violent events is a "normal reaction".

"It's the same way that if you are involved in a car accident, you can be quite wary about any kind of normal travel for a while after that," Dr Wright says.

"So that wariness is part of a normal stress reaction but the fact is, you know that it's not entirely rational and that is why you need to be talking about it, you need to be focusing on looking after your own health, accepting that a lot of the things that you're thinking about and feeling are connected with the traumatic event and that you will recover.

"It's important for some people, particularly when things happen in a public place like a shopping centre, that if they're unable to deal with that avoidance, that's a really good reason, after time, to reach out for some more professional help."

Reporting by Melissa Mackay and Sarah Gerathy

Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel is a prominent conservative leader of the Assyrian Orthodox Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley in Western Sydney.

The 53-year-old sustained lacerations to his head after being lunged at during a mass service at the church that was being broadcast online, with the NSW Police commissioner saying he underwent surgery and was "lucky to be alive".

A charismatic and controversial figure, he gained a significant online following in 2020 as an outspoken opponent of COVID-19 lockdowns, referring to the outbreak as a "plandemic".

Read the full story here: