Man arrested in Sydney after church stabbing injures bishop, others

SYDNEY: Australian authorities arrested a man on Monday (Apr 15) evening after several people were injured in a stabbing at a church in west Sydney. 

The man is assisting police with inquiries, the New South Wales police force said in a statement, adding that the victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were being treated by paramedics. 

The ambulance service told AFP that four people were being treated. 

In a video widely shared online, Bishop Mar Mari delivers a sermon in the suburb of Wakeley. The footage identifies the location as Bishop of Christ The Good Shepherd Church. 

During the proceedings, which were livestreamed, a man approaches the religious leader and is seen stabbing him several times with the bishop falling to the ground. 

Several people then rush forward and try to subdue the attacker. 

The Australian Jewish Association characterised the incident as a "stabbing attack". 

There has been no information yet on the perpetrator or motive, "but the worst is feared", it said in a post on X. 

The incident comes two days after an attacker fatally stabbed six people at a busy shopping centre in Sydney's beach suburb of Bondi.

In the attack on Saturday, five of the six people killed and the majority of the 12 injured were women.

Violent crimes such as Saturday's stabbing are rare in the country of about 27 million people, which has some of the world's toughest gun and knife laws.