Update (0842 EST): The suspect has reportedly been removed from the church.
Update (0812 EST): Two police officers have reportedly been injured by the rioters as they continue to demand the release of the attacker to them.
#BREAKING: Two police officers injured by people gathering out the front of the Liverpool church: Nine (via Sky). @6NewsAU
— Austin Pollock (@AustinPollock_6) April 15, 2024
Update (0757 EST): The suspect reportedly carried out the attack for religious reasons, the suspect’s religion has not been identified as of this post. Liverpool Hospital where the Bishop has been processed is currently on lockdown as rioters are being repulsed by police with pepper spray. These rioters are supporting the Bishop and are demanding the release of the suspect to them, most likely for a lynching. As of this publication, the attacker is still inside the church in police custody with a large group of civilians blocking the church entrances.
QUOTE : From the attackers mouth.
Translated: He was getting involved in my religion so I came to get involved in his” pic.twitter.com/D70FiTkwGw— Georgio Racheh (@GeoRacheh) April 15, 2024
Update (0743 EST): Local officials are calling for calm as parishioners and other community members have initiated a low-level riot in response to the attack. Fairfield, NSW, Australia Mayor Carbone has called on community members to return home as the police conduct their investigation.
Update (0717 EST): The attacker can be seen below, smiling after carrying out the attack. Bishop Mari Emmanuel has been reported in stable condition.
This is the attacker. Smiling after his attack. pic.twitter.com/0O3zHBYy1M
— Georgio Racheh (@GeoRacheh) April 15, 2024
Update (0643 EST): The NSW Police Force has confirmed a male suspect has been arrested and that multiple victims have sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
A police operation is underway in Wakeley, following reports of a stabbing.
Officers attached to Fairfield City Police Area Command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number of people were stabbed.
Officers arrested a male and he is assisting…
— NSW Police Force (@nswpolice) April 15, 2024
Update (0632 EST): Reports are now emerging that the suspect, previously reported to have been transported to a local police station, is actually still inside the Christ the Good Shepard Church. Service attendees are reportedly holding him and not allowing him to leave as police are working to bring him out. This is developing, check back for updates.
UPDATE: Attacker has been barricaded in the church and the members of the church are not allowing him to leave. The Police are trying to get him out now.
— Georgio Racheh (@GeoRacheh) April 15, 2024
The Incident
At approximately 0540 EST, initial reports indicated that a Chrisitan leader had been stabbed at the Christ The Good Shepherd Church in the in the Wakeley area of Sydney, NSW, Australia.
After reviewing the below footage, it is clear that the victim is Bishop H.G. Mar Mari Emmanuel.
Please note the following video is very disturbing.
A prominent figure in the Christian community has been attacked and stabbed on a live stream in a Wakeley church in Western Sydney. #sydney#nsw#Christianity pic.twitter.com/XErPwpVHmH— Georgio Racheh (@GeoRacheh) April 15, 2024
The video appears to show Bishop H.G. Mar Mari Emmanuel (born Robert Shlimon) delivering a sermon over live-stream when the suspect approaches the lectern and begins stabbing him with a pen. Service-goers immediately spring into action and detain the suspect who was taken to Fairfield Police station. The Bishop was taken to Liverpool Hospital and his injuries are not currently clear.
— Georgio Racheh (@GeoRacheh) April 15, 2024
The Bishop
In July 2014, Mari Emmanuel was suspended from the Syriac Christianity archdiocese of Australia and New Zealand on the grounds of disobeying canons promulgated by the First Council of Nicaea in AD 325. His former parish there was Saint Zaia Cathedral – Middleton Grange, New South Wales. By January 2015, he established an independent church where this stabbing took place today. As of March 2023, Mar Mari Emmanuel was not listed among the clergy of the Assyrian Church’s Archdiocese of Australia, New Zealand, and Lebanon.
Mari Emmanuel’s church has gained popularity via his TikTok presence and he has been dubbed the “TikTok Bishop” through several popular videos such as “Satan Has Engulfed the Churches”, where the Bishop expresses his opinions on Pope Francis “going woke.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mari Emmanuel was criticized for speaking out against Australian lockdowns, calling the disease no different from the flu.
