Sydney has been shaken by another stabbing attack with a priest and worshippers assailed by a knife-wielding man Monday in a suburban church.
Bishop Mari Emmanuel was preaching a live-streamed sermon at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in the city’s west when a man dressed in black approached the altar and allegedly stabbed the Christian Orthodox priest multiple times.
Horrifying footage of the incident, which was being broadcast live on the church’s YouTube page, shows Bishop Emmanuel look up in astonishment as the attacker suddenly rains down blows on his face and head, news.com.au reports.
The local Sydney-based outlet goes on to state:
The Bishop gained prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic after slamming Sydney’s lockdown as “mass slavery”.
He also claimed vaccines were futile because living “normally” would boost immunity.
“Are we humans? Because we are being treated like animals,” Bishop Emmanuel said in a sermon at the time in 2021.
“They are encouraging people to go and take vaccine and stay at home. They have had enough.”
Some reports suggest at least two others were also allegedly stabbed in the ensuing tussle. That claim is still to be verified.
New South Wales (NSW) police said they were responding to the incident, which took place just after 7pm.
Local Christians guard the perimeter of the Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Sydney’s western suburb of Wakeley on April 15, 2024, after several people were stabbed in the church premises. (DAVID GRAY/AFP via Getty Images)
A police officer investigates in a church where a bishop and churchgoers were reportedly stabbed in Sydney Australia, Monday, April 15, 2024. Police say a man has been arrested after a bishop and churchgoers were stabbed in the church. There are no life-threatening injuries. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
The attack comes just 48 hours after six people were murdered in Westfield mall at Bondi Junction by a crazed knifeman, as Breitbart News reported.
Joel Cauchi, 40, stabbed five women and a male security guard to death and injured several others before he was gunned down by a police officer.
There is no suggestion the two events are linked.
More to come