Achi news desk-
Chief executive Mike Burgess, speaking alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albany and Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reese Kershaw, said ASIO, as part of the Joint Counter-Terrorism Team, would support the investigation into the attack.
Bishop Mar-Marie Emmanuel was stabbed during a service at the Church of the “Good Shepherd” in Weekley shortly after 19:00 at night.
Father Isaac Royal was also injured. Both men are believed to be undergoing surgery today.
Parishioners caught a 16-year-old boy who is now in police custody, but the incident sparked outrage in the community with a large crowd gathering outside the church, quickly growing from around 50 to 500 people. It was initially reported that the boy was 15 years old.
Two police officers were injured, one suffered a broken jaw
Over 100 police officers and more than 30 police vehicles swarmed the area, including specialist officers and the police helicopter.
Burgess said that at this stage, there is no indication of an ongoing threat to the public, and that the terror alert level will not be raised.
“(The stabbing) does appear to be religiously motivated, but we are continuing our lines of inquiry,” he said.
Albanese urged Australians to remain calm as he offered his condolences to those affected by both last night’s attack and the deadly stabbing spree at Bondi Junction this weekend.
“I understand that people feel uncomfortable, and that’s understandable, given the horror that happened on Saturday and then this incident last night,” Albanese said.
“And part of us standing here is to reassure the public that the authorities are doing their job. I have every confidence in the NSW Police, the Australian Federal Police, our security agencies, to do their job. We will provide them with every support.”
