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As it happenedended1713353286

Baby injured in Sydney mall stabbing out of ICU as police detain teen in church ‘terrorist’ attack

Members of the public clashed with police after Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was stabbed during a service at Christ the Good Shepherd Church

Namita Singh,Alex Ross,Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Wednesday 17 April 2024 12:28 BST
Emergency services respond after multiple people stabbed at Sydney shopping centre

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A baby girl injured in a stabbing attack at the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre has been moved out of the intensive care.

The nine-month-old child was in a serious but stable condition, a health official said. Her mother, Ashlee Good, was among the six people killed in the carnage on Saturday.

Meanwhile, police in Sydney declared the attack on a bishop at a church as an act of terrorism, as authorities call for calm in the wake of disturbance following the incident.

At least four people were injured in the attack, including Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, during a service at the Christ The Good Shepherd Church in the suburb of Wakeley in the west of the city.

A 16-year-old boy was arrested during the event, which triggered a riot outside the church. Two officers were injured with one suffering a broken jaw after he was hit with a brick and fence palings. Ten police cars were destroyed.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese urged the public not to take the law into their own hands. “It is not acceptable to impede police and injure police doing their duty or to damage police vehicles in a way that we saw last night,” he added.

1713301226

What’s really to blame for the Sydney stabbings

What’s really to blame for the Sydney stabbings

I’m a psychologist, writes Dr Jessica Taylor – and I can tell you that attacks like these are rarely ‘random’, ‘unpredictable’, ‘unrelated’ and ‘unpreventable’. The real ‘monster’ here is misogyny

Alexander Butler16 April 2024 22:00
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Parents of ‘monster’ Sydney knife attacker say son was angry he ‘couldn’t get a girlfriend’

Parents of Sydney knife attacker ‘extremely sorry’ after son kills six

Joel Cauchi, 40, killed six people and injured 12 others, including a nine-month old baby

Alexander Butler16 April 2024 23:00
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The Sydney attacker’s secret life as a male escort as police probe if he targeted women

Joel Cauchi: The Sydney attacker’s secret life as a male escort

Police will investigate whether Joel Cauchi targeted women during the rampage as details about his itinerant life emerge

Alexander Butler17 April 2024 00:01
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Sydney stabbings: What we know about the six victims of the mall attack

Sydney stabbings: What we know about the six victims of the mall attack

Five women and one man were killed by knife attacker Joel Cauchi at Bondi Junction on Saturday

Alexander Butler17 April 2024 01:00
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Better mental health support could help avoid tragedies like Sydney

Letters: Better mental health support could help avoid tragedies like Sydney

Letters to the editor: our readers share their views. Please send your letters to letters@independent.co.uk

Alexander Butler17 April 2024 02:00
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‘Hero’ police officer who saved countless lives in Sydney mall attack named and pictured

‘Hero’ police officer who saved countless lives in Sydney mall attack pictured

Inspector Amy Scott was the first to reach the scene and shot the attacker after he lunged towards her with a knife

Alexander Butler17 April 2024 03:00
1713322800

Joel Cauchi: Who was the Sydney mall stabbing attacker?

Joel Cauchi: Sydney stabbing attacker who killed six at Bondi Junction mall

He battled ‘mental health issues since he was a teenager’ and led ‘itinerant’ lifestyle

Alexander Butler17 April 2024 04:00
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Australian authorities mull tougher knife laws

New South Wales authorities are considering tougher knife laws following two stabbing attacks in Sydney this past week.

“It’s a combustible situation and I’m not going to sugarcoat it,” premier Chris Minns told Sydney radio 2GB yesterday.

“We increased knife laws about six months ago after the terrible death of Steven Tougher, the NSW paramedic, but I’m not prepared to rule anything out right now

“When people are being killed, and you’ve got a situation where a knife is being used, then it would be irresponsible not to look at it,” he added.

The NSW government in June 2023 amended the Crimes Act to include the offences of carrying a knife in a public place or school and wielding a knife in a public place or school.

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar17 April 2024 04:18
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Woman describes how she hid from Sydney shopping centre attacker

Woman describes how she hid from Sydney mall attacker: ‘I thought I was going to die’

An eyewitness has described how she hid from a knifeman and thought she was “going to die” during a terrifying attack at a Sydney shopping centre. The woman told Sky News how she saw a man with a machete and rushed to hide in the Westfield Bondi Junction on Saturday (13 April). Crying, the woman said: “It was just the worst thing ever. Who does that to people?” Police have confirmed six people have been killed and their attacker shot dead following the horrific attack. A New South Wales Police officer confronted the attacker at Westfield Bondi Junction and shot him dead as he faced her and raised a knife.

Alexander Butler17 April 2024 05:00
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Who is bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel?

Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, who was stabbed during a church service live streamed from Sydney, is a social media star with followers around the world, but the bearded clergyman is also a divisive preacher.

The 53-year-old bishop, who has a popular youth following on TikTok and was awarded by YouTube in 2023 for hitting 100,000 subscribers, has been a target for criticism, hate and online trolling.

On Monday night a teenager stabbed him and other worshippers with a knife during a sermon at the Assyrian Christ The Good Shepherd Church in western Sydney.

Footage posted online showed the attacker criticising the bishop’s comments about Islam while pinned to the ground by the congregation. Police said on Tuesday it was a terrorist attack motivated by suspected religious extremism.

In some sermons posted online and shared widely, Mr Emmanuel questions parts of Islamic theology, although in others he stresses his love for the Muslim community and how he regularly prays for them. In a recent post he expressed support for Palestinians in Gaza.

“He’s not saying your religion is rubbish, he’s just proving them wrong and very well articulated to the point where it gets under their skin ... the only way you can bring him down is through physical violence,” a 20-year-old resident told Reuters.

In other sermons Mr Emmanuel took aim at the secular world, casting doubt on Joe Biden’s election, attacking his support for gay rights and urging Donald Trump to stay true to God and resist the influence of Freemasons.

Mr Emmanuel’s popularity peaked during the Covid-19 pandemic because his sermons were online, according to the locals.

Senior Parish Priest Isaac Royel (L) and Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel during the 2023 Holy Resurrection Feast services, in Sydney, Australia
Senior Parish Priest Isaac Royel (L) and Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel during the 2023 Holy Resurrection Feast services, in Sydney, Australia (via REUTERS)

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar17 April 2024 05:30

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