A teenager arrested in connection with the suspected terror stabbing at a church in Sydney was reportedly on bail for another knife crime.
The bishop, Mar Mari Emmanuel, and priest Isaac Royel are "lucky to be alive" after they were attacked at a live-streamed sermon at Christ the Good Shepherd Church on Monday.
The 16-year-old suspect's comments point to a religious motive for the attack, police say. The teenager was known to police but was not on a terror watch list.
It was also reported that he was facing court for a knife crime just three months ago but was released for 'good behaviour', according to ABC News.
He was allegedly charged with a range of offences including possessing a knife after an incident at a Sydney train station involving three other boys.
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Karen Webb, police commissioner at New South Wales, said: "We'll allege there's a degree of premeditation on the basis that this person has travelled to that location, which is not near his residential address, he has travelled with a knife and subsequently the bishop and the priest have been stabbed. They're lucky to be alive."
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said "there is no place for violence in our community" as he reassured worshippers, many of whom saw a person in black clothes approach the altar and stab the bishop and priest at the service. The congregation is seen overpowering the assailant in the chilling livestream.
A crowd of hundreds seeking revenge gathered outside the Orthodox Assyrian church, hurling bricks and bottles, injuring police officers and preventing police from taking the teen outside, officials said.
The teen suspect and at least two police officers were also taken to hospital, acting assistant police commissioner Andrew Holland told journalists. The church, in a message on social media, said the bishop and priest were in stable condition and asked for people's prayers.
"It is the bishop's and father's wishes that you also pray for the perpetrator," the statement said. Mr Holland commended the congregation for subduing the teen before calling police. When asked if the teen's fingers had been severed, he said the hand injuries were "severe".
Bishop Emmanuel was among two people stabbedMore than 100 police reinforcements arrived before the teen was taken from the church in the hours-long incident. Several police vehicles were damaged, Mr Holland said.
"A number of houses have been damaged. They've broken into a number of houses to gain weapons to throw at the police. They've thrown weapons and items at the church itself. There were obviously people who wanted to get access to the young person who caused the injuries to the clergy people," Mr Holland added.
Australians were still in shock after a lone assailant stabbed six people to death in a Sydney shopping centre on Saturday and injured more than a dozen others. Mr Holland suggested the weekend attack heightened the community's response to the church stabbing.
Mr Holland continued: "Given that there has been incidents in Sydney the last few days with knives involved, obviously there's concerns. We've asked for everyone to think rationally at this stage. We spoke to community leaders and members of the community to speak to their local people, to try and keep people calm."
The bishop, described in local media as a figure sometimes seen as divisive on issues such as Covid-19 restrictions, was in national news last year with comments about gender.
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