As we previously reported, on the evening of April 15, a stabbing occurred in a church in Sydney during a live sermon. A video of the attack was also published, on which the attacker can be seen walking up to the bishop and striking him several times with his weapon. According to Australia, the attack in the church was an act of terrorism.
The police said that a team of more than 400 police and security personnel took part in the operation, where they arrested the seven accomplices of the 16-year-old perpetrator, reports AsiaOne.
The teenagers were detained because they posed an “unacceptable risk” to society. According to the police, the teenagers believed in religiously motivated, violent extremist ideology.
I can assure the community that there is no ongoing threat to the community
– said David Hudson, Deputy Commissioner of Police of the state of New South Wales, at the press conference following the arrests.
A few days before the attack on the bishop, there was a stabbing attack in Australia’s most populous city, six people were killed and 12 injured in a massacre at a shopping center in Sydney at around 4 p.m. local time.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says violent extremism has no place in Australia.
We are a peace loving nation. Now is the time to come together as a community and country, not pull apart
he said at a press conference.
