Raids On 15 April 2024, at approximately 7:15 pm local time, a knife attack took place at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, a suburb of Sydney, Australia.

The New South Wales Police Force have arrested a 16-year-old male with a "long history of behaviour consistent with a mental illness or intellectual disability"[3] over the attack.

[6] Originally from Iraq, Mar Mari Emmanuel was ordained a bishop in 2011, but later broke away from the Ancient Church of the East due to theological differences[7] and established his own Christian denomination.

[1] An assailant wearing a black jumper entered Christ The Good Shepherd Church[6] on Welcome Street,[19] shouted "Allahu Akbar",[2] and attacked several people with a knife, starting with the presiding bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel,[1] who was preaching and being live-streamed to the internet.

[8][24][28] He had previously been convicted in January 2024 for weapons offences and stalking, intimidation and damaging property, but was released on a good behaviour bond by a court in Sydney.

The magistrate recommended that he undergo a mental health assessment and ordered him remanded at a children's detention center upon being released from hospital pending his next court hearing on 14 June.

[50] Police were deployed in mosques across Sydney after reports that text messages were being circulated calling for the Assyrian Christian community to retaliate against Muslims.

The Lakemba Mosque, the largest in the country, also hired additional private security after receiving fire bomb threats on 15 April.

[57] Karen Webb stressed that the rioters were not related to the church's parish, and only used the original attack "as an excuse" to brawl with the police.

[59][60] The next day, five of those arrested were charged with terrorism and extremism offences, including possessing extremist material and conspiring to plan or prepare for a terrorist act.

[62] The Christ the Good Shepherd's administration requested prayers for the victims of the attack as well as the alleged perpetrator in accordance with Bishop Emmanuel and Father Isaac's wishes.

[63] Bishop Emmanuel stated he had forgiven his assailant and called for his followers to be calm and law abiding amid the riots.

[64] Councillor Steve Christou of the Cumberland City Council stated "It just shows the remarkable courage of a man and the forgiveness he has within him to pray for his alleged attacker.

[10] Frank Carbone, the mayor of the City of Fairfield, said the attack and subsequent riot was "a very emotional situation", adding that the community was "very upset" over the incident.

[68] Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the attack, saying that there was no place for "violence in our community" and "violent extremism".

"[69] Mike Burgess, the Director-General of Security of ASIO, declared that Australia's terror threat level was "possible", which meant extremism was an existing danger.

[69] The Australian government ordered Meta Platforms and X to remove offensive content relating to the attack within 24 hours or face fines.

[71] The ban was extended on 10 May,[72] but was lifted on 13 May,[73] with Justice Geoffrey Kennett saying that it was unreasonable for the eSafety Commission to require X to remove access to the video globally and noting that a block would be "ignored or disparaged" by other countries.

[74] The eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant dropped the Federal Court case on 5 June 2024, but stated that she would continue legal action in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.