SYDNEY (NEWSnet/AP) — Horrified worshipers watched online and in-person as a 15-year-old boy stabbed a bishop and priest during a church service in Sydney.
Members of the congregation were able to subdue the teen.
Hundreds seeking revenge gathered outside Christ the Good Shepherd in suburban Wakeley, hurling bricks and bottles, injuring police officers and preventing police from taking the teen outdoors, officials said.
There were no life-threatening injuries. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and priest Isaac Royel, the teen and at least two police officers were hospitalized, said Andrew Holland, acting assistant police commissioner.
The bishop and priest are in stable condition and asked for people’s prayers, according to the church.
“It is the bishop’s and father’s wishes that you also pray for the perpetrator.”
Christ the Good Shepherd in suburban Wakeley streams sermons online. A video on social media shows a male dressed in black approaching the bishop at the altar, and stabbing him repeatedly in the head and upper body. Members of the congregation scream and rush to stop it.
Holland commended the congregation for subduing the teen before calling police.
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