WA teen arrested after ‘heinous’ threat to carry out ‘Christchurch 2.0’ attack on new Sydney mosque

Police have arrested a teenager as they investigate a threat to a newly opened Sydney mosque that vowed to ‘christ church 2.0 this joint’ just as Australian Muslims prepared for the holy month of Ramadan.

The Australian Islamic House runs the Al-Bayt Al-Islami Mosque in Edmondson Park, which only formally opened its doors last week. Picture: Facebook

A teenager from Western Australia has been arrested after a “heinous” threat was allegedly made to a newly opened southwest Sydney mosque, where he allegedly vowed to “christ church 2.0 this joint” just as Australian Muslims prepared for the holy month of Ramadan.

The threat, posted by an Instagram account onto The Australian Islamic House’s page on Monday, vowed to carry out an atrocity akin to the 2019 Christchurch massacre, where Australian-born man Brenton Tarrant opened fire on worshippers at the Al-Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre, killing 51 people.

That account allegedly wrote on the organisation’s Instagram page: “I’m about to christ church 2.0 this joint”.

On Tuesday evening NSW Police said the 16-year-old had been arrested in WA following the alleged threat just before 5pm local time and that the teenager was assisting police.

“Following a referral from the New South Wales Police Force to the Western Australia Police Force, just before 5.00pm (Western Australia local time), a 16-year-old boy was arrested at Eaton, in south-west Western Australia,” a spokesperson for NSW Police said.

“There are no ongoing threats to the community,” the spokesperson said.

The teenager is in custody and no charges have been laid.

On Tuesday, as news of the threat broke, NSW Premier Chris Minns confirmed that police were conducting a “major police investigation”.

“This (the threat) is very distressing, particularly as Muslims right across the state are participating in prayer during the month of Ramadan,” Mr Minns said.

Anthony Albanese condemned the threat as “abhorrent”, saying it had “no place in Australia”.

“The authorities have my full support as they investigate this matter … Those responsible must face the full force the law,” the Prime Minister said.

Worshippers pictured attending the mosque. Picture: Facebook

The Australian Islamic House runs the Al-Bayt Al-Islami Mosque in Edmondson Park, southwest Sydney, where the organisation’s leaders believe the threat was aimed at.

Australian Islamic House president Mazhar Hadid said the organisation and community was “profoundly concerned” and took the threat with the “utmost seriousness”.

“Our community deserves to feel safe and protected, just like any other citizen of this country,” Mr Hadid said, who was a 16-year Liberal councillor on Liverpool council until September.

“We call on the authorities to treat this matter with the highest urgency and to ensure that all places of worship are safeguarded against such acts of hatred and violence.”

A respected figure, Mr Hadid was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2024, and has criticised attacks targeting the Jewish community, but also comments from his own party that appeared to speak disparagingly of southwest Sydney Muslims.

The mosque’s leaders said it was initially concerned with the safety of its congregation at the daily night prayers during Ramadan, but that it had been reassured by NSW Police of an increased presence after the threat and was comfortable to open its doors.

Australian Islamic House co-founder Mazhar Hadid, a former 16-year Liberal councillor. Picture: Facebook

The new mosque was decades in the making, only formally opening its doors last week, where 5000 worshippers prayed on the first night of Ramadan.

Multiculturalism Minister Steve Kamper called the threat “heinous”, saying the government and law enforcement would support the community to ensure its safety.

“This threat to our Muslim brothers and sisters is incredibly concerning,” he said.

“Acts designed to intimidate and divide have no place in our society. Importantly, places of worship should always be a safe haven for our community.

“No matter your ethnicity, religion, or country of birth, we are all bound – first and foremost – by our common commitment to each other as Australians.”

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip called the threat “appalling” and “bigoted”, saying it sought to incite fear within the Muslim community.

“A bigoted attack or threat targeted at any group of Australians is an attack on us all,” he said, adding he’d spoken with the Australian National Imams Council to convey his community’s condemnation.

NSW Police said officers from its Liverpool command commenced an investigation on Tuesday when it received a report of Monday’s threat, but that there were “no ongoing threats” and the source of the “christ church 2.0” vow was “interstate”.

“Increased taskings will be conducted by officers as part of Strike Force Pearl,” the police’s statement said.

“It is important that the community and police continue to work together to make NSW a safer place for everyone.”