By Jessica McSweeney and Sarah McPhee
A teenager charged with stabbing a bishop in a church in Sydney’s west has a “long history of behaviour” consistent with mental health issues, a court has heard, as police allege he travelled up to an hour and a half in his quest to carry out the alleged terrorism offence.
The 16-year-old is accused of stabbing Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel six times as the leader of Wakeley’s Christ The Good Shepherd Church delivered a livestreamed sermon on Monday.
The 16-year-old accused of carrying out a terrorist attack at a church in western Sydney.
The incident at the conservative Assyrian church was quickly declared a terrorist attack by police, who on Tuesday seized electronic devices from the teenager’s home.
Police on Thursday afternoon interviewed the accused attacker in hospital, where he was charged with a Commonwealth terrorism offence.
If he is convicted, he faces life in prison.
The matter was mentioned briefly before Parramatta Children’s Court on Friday morning. The teenager did not appear via video link or apply for bail as the prosecutor sought a standard eight-week adjournment to June 14.
Defence barrister Greg Scragg said the teenager would on Friday be seen by a forensic psychologist at the hospital, where he will remain “for the purposes of assessing him for treatment and/or assessing him in relation to his fitness”.
Scragg said the matter might need to return to court at an earlier date to address the question of his conditions in custody. He had been advised by the teenager’s family that the boy was “in need of help” and has “a long history of behaviour” consistent with suffering from a mental illness, condition or disorder.
“The young person does have a long history with intermittent psychological treatment dating from about the time when he was five years of age, up until shortly before the commission of the alleged offences,” Scragg told the court.
“His family, your honour, believes that it is imperative that their son be seen by a treating psychologist as soon as practicable to assess what treatment he requires and whether or not he presents as an ongoing risk of self-harm.”
Scragg sought a recommendation from the magistrate for the teenager to be seen and assessed by Justice Health. The lawyer did not comment as he left court.
In a Friday morning press conference, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb would not go into the specifics of the case against the teenager, other than to say the police facts substantiate the decision to charge him with a terrorism offence.
The attack left the bishop and another priest in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Video from the frenzy that followed shows the teenager being held down and confronted by parishioners. In the footage, a priest, Father Isaac Royel, who was also injured, asks the teenager who sent him to the church.
Translated from Arabic, the alleged attacker replies: “Why is he swearing to my prophet? I would not have come here. He is getting himself involved in my religion.”
Those in touch with the family say they were dismayed at the choice to call the teenager’s actions an alleged terrorist attack.
Islamic community leaders have warned the terrorism label is fanning tensions in western Sydney. Police are this week patrolling mosques in case of tit-for-tat violence.
“We target criminality, not countries. We investigate radicalisation, not religion,” Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said.
Alleged Wakeley rioter Dani Mansour leaves Blacktown Local Court after being released on bail.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
Those close to the family of the alleged attacker said he had been expelled from school and was arrested over an incident at a railway station, but his parents did not see any signs of religious extremism.
The family fled their home after the teenager was arrested and they were interviewed by counterterrorism police officers, according to Islamic community leader Dr Jamal Rifi.
A riot erupted immediately after the alleged attack as thousands – including many who weren’t connected to the church – arrived after news of the attack spread through social media.
Police said 51 officers were injured when rioters threw projectiles at them and destroyed police cars. Paramedics were forced to hide in the church for more than three hours as the angry crowd turned on emergency responders in a bid to get to the alleged offender.
One rioter has faced court since the incident, 19-year-old Dani Mansour, who said his decision to participate in the riot was a mistake after he was bailed on Thursday.
Webb urged the community to stop the spread of misinformation online. Police believe many of those who participated in the riot that followed the Wakeley stabbing had no connection to the church but were motivated to participate after being incited on social media.
“I do know that there’s been information on applications like WhatsApp, TikTok … suggesting certain things and they’re not true, and it’s creating fear – unnecessary fear – and it needs to stop,” she said.
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