Australia: Several injured in west Sydney church stabbing

A number of people were injured in a stabbing at a church in Sydney, police said on Monday. The attack occurred in the western suburbs of Australia’s most populous city.

What do we know about the stabbing?

Officers said they arrested a man who was assisting them with inquiries.

The stabbing was carried out during a service at the church. A video on social media shows a man approaching a cleric at the altar of the church and appearing to stab him repeatedly.

Local media identified the place of worship as the Good Shepherd Church in the suburb of Wakeley, which lies some 30 km (18 miles) west of Sydney’s central business district. The congregation belongs to the Assyrian Church of the East traditionally based in parts of the Middle East and southern India.

“A large police response is underway and the public is urged to avoid the area,” police said.

The victims suffered “non-life-threatening injuries” and were being treated by ambulance crews, police said.

There were 11 ambulances on the scene on Monday.

Four people, including the church’s bishop, were injured in the attack. The Agence-France Presse news agency cited the ambulance service as saying that the four victims were men between the ages of 20 and 70.

The New South Wales state ambulance service said that a 50-year-old man was taken to hospital in a serious condition. The three others were treated at the scene.

The attack comes just days after a 40-year-old man stabbed to death six people and injured 12 at a shopping centre in Bondi Junction in eastern Sydney. There is no indication the two events are linked.