Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
International Business Times
International Business Times
World
AFP News

Four Wounded In Sydney Church Stabbing, Man Arrested

A black ribbon is projected onto the Sydney Opera House as a mark of respect for the six victims killed in a stabbing rampage in a suburban shopping mall on Saturday (Credit: AFP)

Four people are being treated for "non-life threatening injuries" after a stabbing at a live-streamed church service in Sydney on Monday, the latest knife attack to rock the city.

Australian police said they had arrested one man, after a member of the congregation at an Assyrian church rushed at the dais and slashed at the bishop, causing pandemonium.

Amid the panic and screams, several churchgoers rushed to safety while others tried to subdue the attacker.

The ambulance service told AFP that four men aged between 20 and 70 were being treated for injuries, including lacerations.

"The injured individuals suffered non-life threatening injuries and were treated by New South Wales Ambulance paramedics before being conveyed to hospital," police added.

"A male was arrested and remains in police custody."

The incident came two days after a man with a knife killed six at a shopping mall in the east of Sydney.

AFP verified video of Monday's attack as being taken at the Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Sydney's western suburb of Wakeley.

The neighbourhood is a hub for Sydney's small Christian Assyrian community, many of whom fled persecution and war in Iraq and Syria.

There were tense scenes outside the church after the attack, with hundreds of members of the local community trying to make their way past a phalanx of riot police to reach the suspect.

An AFP journalist at the scene saw projectiles being hurled, before police with riot shields and armour pushed the protesters away from the church.

"He has been removed from the church and taken to an undisclosed location," police said.

They urged the public to avoid the area amid "a large police response."

The Christ the Good Shepherd Church holds a bible session every Monday evening.

Police said they began to receive emergency calls from the scene "about 7.10 pm".

Australians are still reeling from Saturday's stabbing, which was carried out by a 40-year-old man with a history of mental illness.

In that attack, videos shared on social media showed unshaven itinerant Joel Cauchi pursuing mostly female victims as he rampaged through the vast, crowded Westfield shopping complex in Bondi Junction on Saturday afternoon.

A black ribbon was projected onto the Sydney Opera House on Monday as a mark of respect for the victims.

First responders gather outside the Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Sydney's west after several people were stabbed (Credit: AFP)
Projectiles were hurled outside the church, before police with riot shields and armour pushed the protesters away (Credit: AFP)
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.