The parents of the 16-year-old accused of stabbing an Assyrian priest at a Sydney church have said their son has a history of mental health issues.
Two weeks to the day after the teenager allegedly travelled 90 minutes to the Assyrian Christ the Good Shepherd church in Wakeley and stabbed bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, his parents have spoken about their son’s mental health problems throughout his school life.
“He saw so many counsellors in his schools and we saw more than two psychologists and they’re all saying like ‘he have a problem, he have issue when he gets angry’,” his mother said during an interview with ABC’s 7.30. The parents’ faces were blurred and identities not revealed.
His parents explained how his mental health issues had led to problems at school, and that he had been expelled by year 7.
“They said he might have autism and he might need tablets to take,” his mother said. However, he was never formally assessed for autism.
His parents said their son left their home in south-west Sydney on the afternoon of Monday 15 April but did not know where he was going.
They said one of his friends had died recently, and his father had been expecting to take his son to the wake but was unable to find him.
Later that night, the teenager’s mother received a phone call asking if her son was at home. The caller then sent the mother a video – which showed the livestream of the church service during which the alleged attack occurred.
“I couldn’t finish the video … I threw the phone,” his mother said.
The parents’ comments follow comments by the teenager’s lawyer on Friday that the boy had shown behaviour consistent with mental illness or intellectual disability.
On Sunday, the bishop said he had lost the use of his right eye after the attack.
Wearing an eyepatch, the 53-year-old bishop, who was hospitalised after the attack, delivered sermons in English, Arabic and Assyrian marking the Assyrian Orthodox Palm Sunday.
In his Arabic sermon, Emmanuel said his injury was a “sacrifice”, and said it should be taken as a gesture of love to Muslims.
In his English sermon, Emmanuel echoed comments he made earlier forgiving the alleged offender.
“I will always pray for you, I will always wish you nothing but the best,” he said.
