A 16-year-old boy has been charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly stabbing an Assyrian church bishop in Sydney during a church service, Australian police said on Friday (April 19).

Police from the joint counter terrorism team questioned the boy, who is in a hospital under police guard recovering from injuries, on Thursday (April 18) and charged him with committing a terrorist act. If convicted, he could get a maximum penalty of imprisonment for life.

New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb said :

“The incident relates to the stabbing of the bishop, we allege, on Monday night, that was stabbed up to six times. We also allege that the boy had travelled for 90 minutes to attend that location from his home address.”

Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and a priest, Fr Isaac Royel were injured in the incident.

The church stabbing occurred on Monday (April 15), at the Church of Christ the Good Shepherd in the suburb of Wakeley. It came just two days after a separate knife attack at a Sydney mall last Saturday (April 13) left six people dead and injured 12.

 Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said:

“We know that grief hangs heavy over Sydney at the moment and there are many communities with questions, but our answers will have more meaning if we find commonality and not difference.”