Police have reportedly arrested a teenage boy after a bishop and three other people were stabbed during a church service near the Australian city of Sydney.
A bishop named Mar Mari Emmanuel was delivering a sermon Monday evening at the Christ The Good Shepherd Church in the suburb of Wakeley when the attack took place.
Video from a livestream showed the moment when the suspect walked up to the bishop and allegedly stabbed him, after which people in the congregation rushed toward the altar, according to The Guardian.
Police responded to reports of people being stabbed and a suspect was taken into custody, the New South Wales Police Force said in a post to X. CBS News reported that police identified the suspect as a 15-year-old boy who received treatment for a wound to his hand.
Some individuals sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were treated by paramedics before being transported to the hospital, police said.
Sky News reported one man in his 50s endured multiple lacerations and was taken to the hospital in a serious condition.
The other injured individuals were said to be a man in his 60s, a man in his 30s, and a man in his 20s.
Unverified footage posted online showed crowds gathering outside the church, with some people appearing to attack the building and emergency services vehicles, per the BBC.
Police said officers were working on “restoring order” following the attack, and a “large police response” was underway. The public was urged to avoid the area.
The church posted a message to social media, as reported by ABC News, that said the bishop and a senior priest named Isaac Royel were in stable condition.
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“It is the bishop’s and father’s wishes that you also pray for the perpetrator,” the statement said. “We also kindly ask anyone at the church premises to leave in peace.”
The attack took place after six people were killed and several others were injured in a mass stabbing at a Sydney mall over the weekend. Police fatally shot the knifeman in that incident.
Police said the assailant in the mall attack, identified as a 40-year-old homeless man named Joel Cauchi, had a history of mental illness and was targeting women, according to the Associated Press.