SYDNEY (AP) — A boy accused of stabbing two Christian clerics during a Sydney church service might have “anger management and behavioral issues” and a “short fuse” but had shown no signs of being radicalized, a community leader said on Thursday, after authorities declared the stabbing a terrorist attack.
The boy spoke in Arabic about the Prophet Muhammad being insulted after he stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and the Rev. Isaac Royel during Monday night’s Assyrian Orthodox service, which was being streamed online.
The bishop released an audio statement on Thursday saying he was “doing fine, recovering very quickly” and that he forgave his attacker.
Jamal Rifi, a Sydney doctor and Muslim community leader, said the boy had apologized when his family visited him in the hospital on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“He kept apologizing to his mum and saying sorry and all that sort of thing, and he showed remorse for what he did,” Rifi told Sydney Radio 2GB. Rifi said he spoke on Wednesday with the boy’s parents, sister and an uncle who all condemned the boy’s actions. The family had relocated from their home since the attack to avoid retaliation.
Bizarre moment yacht gets wedged underneath railway arches while being carried on a low
Expanded Xinjiang Museum opens to public
UN asks South Sudan to remove new taxes that led to a pause in food airdrops
CBA playoffs: Liaoning sweep Shenzhen to reach semis
Father of former youth detention center resident testifies against him in New Hampshire trial
Bumper harvest of Chinese crabapples in Yanqing
Kimmich heads Bayern past Arsenal, into UCL semis
Eli Lilly, 3M rise; MicroStrategy, Chegg fall, Tuesday, 4/30/2024
2 Ukrainians were stabbed in Germany. Prosecutors are examining a possible political motive
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch to have surgery on knee after sideline collision, AP source says
Italian region to halt COVID testing upon arrival from China