Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel’s life was likely saved from death because his alleged attacker’s flick-knife failed to open properly during the stabbing – and the suspect cut his own finger off in the botched attack.
Close friend Danny Abdallah spoke to the bishop as he recovered in hospital overnight and on Tuesday he revealed further details that had come to light.
Mr Abdallah – who became a public figure when three of his children and his niece were killed by a drunk and drugged driver – called the bishop’s survival an ‘act of God’.
Bishop Emmanuel was stabbed multiple times and rushed to hospital in a stable condition after a horrific incident which was livestreamed online.
A 16-year-old boy dressed in black was seen calmly walking up to the bishop at his altar at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, west Sydney, about 7.10pm on Monday.
He appeared to strike the bishop a series of blows to the head and neck, repeatedly swinging down in a stabbing motion.
In the video clip, the alleged attacker pauses briefly to look at his hand before resuming the attack – but was unable to properly open the flick knife.
It’s since been confirmed the attacker cut his own finger off with the knife during the attack.
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel’s life was saved when his alleged attacker’s flick-knife failed to open properly during the frenzied onslaught (pictured)
Danny Abdallah (pictured with his wife), who lost three children and a niece in 2020, labelled the alleged knifeman’s struggle to open the knife ‘an act of God’
‘He (the alleged knifeman) went for the face and when he was going for the face, it (the knife) didn’t open,’ Mr Abdallah told 2GB’s Ben Fordham.
He told Fordham the bishop appeared to be recovering well on Tuesday morning.
‘As far as I know he’s okay,’ Mr Abdallah said of Bishop Emmanuel. ‘He didn’t get hurt that much yesterday. He was in a stable condition.
‘He’s a good man, he’s a spiritual man. He loves his church, he loves his people.’
Father Isaac Royel was also among four people injured in the incident, which has now been declared a terrorist attack.
Mr Abdallah lost three of his children – Sienna, eight, Angelina, 12, and Antony, 13 – and his 11-year-old niece, Veronique Sakr, in a tragic west Sydney crash in 2020.
The family are very religious and Mr Abdallah is friends with Bishop Emmanuel.
The alleged knifeman (pictured being held down) has been labelled by police as an alleged terrorist
A mob gathered outside Christ The Good Shepherd Church (pictured) in Wakeley in the wake of the incident, resulting in several more injuries
READ MORE: Bishop prays for attacker after the boy stabbed him during church service
Mr Abdallah also condemned the mob who attacked police, angry that officers were preventing reprisals.
Hundreds of Bishop Emmanuel’s gathered outside the church and expressed their anger toward the attacker, believing him to be sheltered by officers inside the church.
The protest quickly turned into a violent riot which resulted in 30 people being injured, including police officers.
Footage showed the mob hurled bottles and bricks at a police barrier and yelled ‘an eye for an eye’ and ‘bring him out’.
The church attack has been declared a terrorist incident with religious motivation, with the alleged assailant reportedly invoking ‘my prophet’ in explaining his actions.
Bishop Emmanuel has been a public critic of aspects of Islam.
NSW Premier Chris Minns warned members of the Assyrian Orthodox faith or any other allied groups from taking action against Muslims.
‘There is no such thing in as taking the law into your own hands,’ Mr Minns said.
‘You will be met by the full force of the law if there is any tit-for-tat violence in Sydney over the coming days.’
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said 20 police cars were damaged in the riots.
‘The police officers, of which there were many, acted courageously to protect that community, witnesses, victims and the ambulance officers,’ she said.
‘They went there to do their job last night and they were turned on.’
It’s understood 30 people were injured in riots (pictured) following the alleged stabbing on Monday night
Footage showed the mob hurled bottles and bricks at a police barrier and yelled ‘an eye for an eye’ and ‘bring him out’ (pictured, remains from the riot on Tuesday)
NSW Ambulance Commissioner Dom Morgan claimed several paramedics were trapped inside the church due to the riot.
‘Paramedics became under threat and … had to retreat into the church,’ he said.
‘The officers that serve this community and police every single day were holed up in that church for three-and-a-half hours.
Six of our paramedics could not leave that facility for fear of their own safety.’
Up to 100 police officers, including riot squad cops, were called to the scene along with POL AIR.
Mr Abdallah said of the riot: ‘I condemn it, it’s not right.
‘They should have left it with the police to look after it, they shouldn’t have done what they did.
‘These are kids that look at him as a spiritual father and they felt like that their father got stabbed and they were probably angry, but they still have no right to do what they did.’
Footage taken immediately after the attack showed the teenage knifeman was pinned down by at least three people, including a police officer.
The teenager appeared to smile and mock his captors as they held him in place.
One man, with blood visible on his jeans, sat with his legs straddling his head.
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb (pictured) said 20 police cars were damaged in the riots
‘People are praying and you come and do this?,’ he said.
The police officer interjected: ‘Stop, just let go, please. You’re going to make it worse.’
Police have declared the alleged attack was an act of terrorism.
‘Strike Force Petrina has been established to investigate that side of the events last night and a referral has been made and agreed to by the joint counterterrorism investigation team that we will work jointly with NSW police lead, with AFP and other Commonwealth agencies in this investigation,’ Commissioner Webb said.
READ MORE: Sonny Bill Williams sends message to bishop who was attacked during service as riots break out
