Mother took phone off terror-accused after Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel stabbing

The lawyer for the youngest of four teenagers arrested on conspiracy charges said the boy was trying to ‘brag and be macho’ in front of his friends.

One of seven people arrested by the Joint Counter Terrorism Team Sydney investigation last week. Picture: NSW Police

The mother of a 15-year-old who declared he wanted to attack Jewish people before being arrested for conspiracy to commit a terrorist attack confiscated his phone following the stabbing of Assyrian Orthodox bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel after her son became “heightened” about the situation.

The lawyer for the youngest of four teenagers arrested on conspiracy charges following raids in relation to the alleged stabbing at Christ The Good Shepherd Church on April 15 said the boy was trying to “brag and be macho” in front of his friends when he said things like “I really want to do an attack now too because I have so much hatred for these kuffar it’s not funny”.

The teenage attacker at the church in Wakeley.

Police also allege they found two hand-drawn ISIS flags in his bedroom.

Magistrate James Viney adjourned his decision in the Parramatta Children’s Court on whether to grant the boy bail to Thursday morning because the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions wanted to submit evidence about the inadequacy of ankle monitoring technology that the teenager’s parents said they would pay for if he were released.

They also offered their home – worth $1.5m – as surety.

The court heard the 15-year-old “bragged” to an unknown person a couple of days after the church stabbing that “I know the bloke who done it, he’s my mate,” after forwarding screenshots and audio messages that praised the alleged stabber.

One of seven people arrested after raids by the Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT) Sydney. Picture: NSW Police

Soon after, his mother took his phone away because he was “getting heightened by the stabbing of the bishop”; she also spoke to him about his “inappropriate” language around the alleged incident.

A psychologist, who submitted a report to the court after briefly speaking with the 15 year-old, said he was “easily led”.

The report said he was “impulsive, makes misguided decisions, (was) easily led and influenced ... struggled with self-esteem and confidence”. His mother said he had been suspended from various schools for fighting.

As far back as January, police allege the 15-year-old spoke to an unknown person on TikTok to say he was “actually thinking about doing an attack”.

Commonwealth prosecutor Rebekah Rodger argued that despite his parents best efforts to talk to him and “de-escalate” after the stabbing of the bishop, the 15-year-old “persisted” and his behaviour “escalated”. She said if he were released now, knowing he had “nothing left to lose”, it might make him more of a risk to the community.

Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel speaks after the attack. Picture: Supplied

The court also heard that on April 19, the 15-year-old wrote to a Signal group called “Plans” to say “I really want to target the yahood (Jewish people)”, “we will plan it” and “when do youse want to do the bayah” – which police say is an ­Islamic term for a pledge of ­allegiance to a leader.

His solicitor, Ahmed Dib, said the boy was “venting very wrong, very unethical, deranged (thoughts)“, using words like “want to” and “thinking about” an attack, rather than taking “proactive steps in terms of planning”.

“(It) would not be outside the realm of possibility that a 15-year-old would be trying to brag and be macho about something that he has nothing to do with”, in terms of trying to fit in with the other kids, he added.

The court also heard that on April 20, the 15-year-old messaged a co-conspirator on Snapchat, airing frustrations that they couldn’t partake in violence that never came following the Wakeley stabbing. “They’ve made peace with the Assyrians,” the older teen said.

In response, the 15-year-old said: “Wanna do it to a bunch of Jews?” He also said: “Don’t youse want to do any attack? … The bloke is literally offering us money … What about Jews, brother? … What about Palestine?” and “We can attack Jews here … I wanted to do it so bad”.