‘He’s just a child’: Family of teen accused of Wakeley church stabbing break silence

The family of the 16-year-old alleged to have stabbed an Assyrian bishop have spoken for the first time, saying they can’t believe their once ‘gentle’ but troubled son could be a terrorist.

The family of the teen alleged to have stabbed a bishop in Sydney have broken their silence.

The family of the 16-year-old alleged to have stabbed an Assyrian bishop in Sydney say they are distraught after Monday’s attack, and can’t believe their once “gentle” but troubled son could be a terrorist.

The boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, is alleged to have stabbed high-profile orthodox Assyrian Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel on Monday while he live-streamed a service.

The teenager’s parents have told The Australian, through a spokesman, that he suffers from anger outbursts, and have been left confused at NSW Police for designating the incident a terror-attack – the first since 2017 – so quickly after the event.

The teenager’s brother, who is overseas, called his parents on Monday upon seeing the footage of his sibling’s alleged attack, simply asking them: “Is this a dream?”.

“Tell me this is a dream,” he asked his parents. “Tell me this isn’t true.”

The parents say their son was gentle but prone to “anger outbursts” and that his behaviour had not improved with counselling, believing he suffered from an undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder.

Three others were injured in the attack. The boy himself lost a finger and four police officers were hurt as hundreds descended onto the church after the attack, which spilt into riot-like scenes and left more than 30 injured.

The incident was streamed live from the church’s YouTube page.

The teenager remains in police custody recovering from his injuries. He has not yet been charged.

The parents, who are from Lebanon, spoke at length with Muslim community leader Dr Jamal Rifi on Wednesday – a leading figure in addressing radicalisation – who was given permission to relay their comments to The Australian.

“They are too afraid to go home, they regret and are sorry for the tragic actions by their son,” Dr Rifi said, saying his “heart breaks” for everyone involved.

The family had seen no signs of their son becoming radicalised, Dr Rifi said, and didn’t believe he had developed hard-line extremist views, saying instead he was prone to anger outbursts and may be autistic.

“The family does not believe anyone is brainwashing their son,” he said.

“Since school he has had issues with anger management and has a short fuse, with his mood changing rapidly.

“His father tried to enrol him in a sports club, but he had to leave, as he would get angry very easily.

“The mother said one of the boy’s old teachers texted her saying she couldn’t believe the reports: ‘that’s not the boy I knew’, the teacher said.”

NSW Police designated the attack as terror-related early on Tuesday, hours after the incident. ASIO director-general Mike Burgess said it appeared to be “religiously motivated” and NSW Premier Chris Minns said that the terror designation was not “performative”.

In footage of the attack, in Arabic, the boy is alleged to have said he “wouldn’t be here” if the Bishop hadn’t offended “his prophet”. The premier said the boy’s alleged “rhetoric” and “history” helped police designate the incident as terror-related.

Dr Jamal Rifi, a prominent figure in Sydney’s Lebanese and Muslim community, spoke with the family on Wednesday. Picture: Tim Hunter.

A widely shared audio message circulating on WhatsApp from a local Islamic leader correctly identified the boy, alleging that his views had been “poisoned” by radical content.

The family, however, do not believe that this could be true.

“The mother said she saw no changes in his behaviour in the days prior to the attack,” Dr Rifi said.

“(The boy) changed schools, saw counsellors, but he would hit out if anyone pushed him.

“But he was gentle, the family said he used to be too scared to lift their cat (for fear of hurting it).”

The family, who spoke with their son at hospital on Tuesday evening, remain unclear on why he allegedly attacked the bishop, or how he got to the church. They said he was “deeply remorseful”.

At the time of publication, Police Minister Yasmin Catley said that police were still waiting to interview the teenager and would do so upon release from care. He could have another operation, delaying inquiries.

Dr Rifi said that the family – although distraught and praying for the victims – were confused by the police’s quick terror designation.

“They feel deeply for their son’s victims, they are not against any people, race or religion – they have always been happy in Australia,” he said.

“But they have questioned Commissioner Karen Webb declaring their son’s act as terrorism.

“They are asking why the police didn’t wait to speak properly with their boy, or inquired about possible mental issues he has.

“Their son is just a child, they (the police) could have waited a bit longer to question him (before designating it as a terror attack).”

Dr Rifi said that the boy had received counselling and recently obtained a mental-health referral for “unprovoked rages”, but had yet to see a specialist or be diagnosed with anything.

“They told detectives that their son was receiving counselling, and they are trying to provide the police with proof and some medical reports,” he said.

The Australian understands that last year NSW Police conducted a welfare check on the boy when his mother couldn’t get hold of him.

Vision from the scenes outside the church on Monday night.

The family would provide a written statement soon and asked for privacy – Dr Rifi urged others to “picture yourself in their shoes”.

“They’re too afraid to go home because of the media scrum outside,” he said.

The father, a taxi driver, and mother, who stays at home, migrated from Lebanon decades ago.

On Wednesday, Lebanese Muslim Association secretary Gamel Kheir told The Australian the boy’s father had sought support from the LMA during Monday’s attack and had stayed overnight at Lakemba Mosque.

“He (the father) was literally in shock, he needed some comforting, he was too scared to go home,” he said, adding that the community would not shy away from tackling any isolated incidents of radicalisation where they may exist.

“Other than that (being a rebellious teen), he never suspected anything (of his son allegedly becoming radicalised),” he said.

“But we’re not going shy away from the fact there may be issues, even if isolated.”

Mr Kheir said it was vital that if kids were “falling between the cracks” the community, both the Muslim and wider, “needed to understand why”.

The Christ The Good Shepherd Church also said it had forgiven the boy for the alleged attack, saying that “forgiveness and a path moving forward” were important.