The day after the stabbing attack on a bishop, a forensics expert was sweeping a fingerprint brush over a nativity scene by the entrance of the Sydney church.

A small car parked outside Christ The Good Shepherd Church had its window screen smashed in – a reminder of the horrific event that happened in the western Sydney suburb on Monday night and the mob violence that followed.

Around 19:00 that night, a 16-year-old boy emerged from the congregation of the Orthodox Assyrian Christian church to launch a frenzied attack on the bishop leading the sermon.

Yelling in Arabic “in the name of the Prophet”, he stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, and attacked another priest and churchgoers who tried to intervene.

It was all caught on a live stream – beamed out over the internet to the local congregation and beyond, the news spreading quickly in Assyrian, Maronite, Catholic and Coptic Christian communities.

Hundreds of supporters then descended on the church – clashing with police who had arrived on the scene by then and detained the teenager. The mob, demanding the teenager be handed over, injured paramedics who were attending the casualties.

Monday night’s attack and the frenzy that followed has further shaken Sydney – a city already on edge.

Read Original Article