Boy was arrested on the scene after Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was attacked throughout a service in Sydney.
A 16-year-old Australian boy has been charged with “committing a terrorist act”, police stated, over the stabbing of an Assyrian church bishop in western Sydney throughout a livestreamed service.
The teenage suspect was taken to hospital following the assault on Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and was charged within the kids’s court docket on Friday morning.
He didn’t seem in court docket and his lawyer didn’t ask for bail, in response to Australia’s public service broadcaster ABC.
Police charged {the teenager} after a search of digital gadgets at his dwelling and an interview at his hospital mattress. He faces a life sentence, if discovered responsible.
Defence lawyer Greg Scragg advised the court docket that preparations had been being made for a forensic psychologist to go to the boy in hospital and “assess him for therapy and in relation to his health”.
He added that the boy had “a protracted historical past of behaviour per affected by a psychological sickness and or psychological situation and or psychological dysfunction,” ABC reported.
Police say the suspect travelled for about 90 minutes to achieve the Christ The Good Shepherd Church within the western Sydney suburb of Wakeley the place he stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel about six instances.
The assault triggered a riot with an offended crowd of the bishop’s followers demanding the suspected attacker be handed over to them.
Having arrested {the teenager} on the scene, police had been pressured to carry him on the church for his personal security.
The gang went on to conflict with the police for greater than three hours. Greater than 50 cops had been injured and 20 police vehicles had been broken.
Investigations into the riot are persevering with.
Bishop Emmanuel, 53, has a well-liked youth following on TikTok and has been a goal of criticism, hate and on-line trolling. His sermons vary from homilies on the Bible to fiery criticisms of homosexuality, COVID-19 vaccinations, Islam and the election of US President Joe Biden.
In an audio message on social media on Thursday, he stated he had forgiven his attacker and that he was recovering rapidly.
