When Wakeley resident Lina Davis heard helicopters circling her home on Monday night, she initially thought it was thunder.
The 73-year-old had no idea that just streets away, a teenage boy allegedly stabbed a Christian leader in the middle of a church service.
Wakeley’s Christ The Good Shepherd Church Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was delivering a sermon when he was stabbed in the head.
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Another clergyman was injured when he tried to intervene, suffering a wounded shoulder and lacerations.
The church service was livestreamed, with footage appearing to show a person dressed in black approaching the altar and attacking the bishop.
Davis’s family called her as soon as they heard of the stabbing, which has since been declared a terrorist attack.
“I was so scared,” she told Sunrise.
“I could hear the helicopters for so long.
“It reminded me of when my mother used to tell me she gave birth to some of my siblings in a bomb shelter and she could hear the bombs going off, and last night reminded me of it.”
Visibly distressed, Davis, who has lived in the area for almost 40 years, said it was terrifying to for the attack to have occurred so close to home and just days after six people were killed in the Westfield Bondi Junction massacre.
“What’s the world coming to,” she said.
“I feel terrible.
“It shouldn’t happen anywhere.”
Emmanuel was taken to Liverpool Hospital where he remains in a serious, but stable condition.
7NEWS understands the 59-year-old is recovering well after having undergone surgery early on Tuesday morning.
The 16-year-old alleged attacker was restrained by parishioners until police arrived.
He has since undergone surgery after a finger was severed during the incident and remains under police guard.
Detectives are also investigating if the boy lost the finger as part of the attack or during the subsequent unrest.
Police vow to track down rioters
Tense scenes erupted at the church after the attack was caught on livestream, with an angry mob descending on Box Rd.
Police responded to the stabbing and the crowd “turned” on them, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said.
Webb said two officers were injured as bricks, concrete and palings were used to assault police while 20 vehicles were damaged.
One constable suffered a broken jaw and another suffered a chipped tooth and twisted knee, police said.
Riot police were called in as tensions escalated.
Seven people were taken to hospital and paramedics assessed about 30 people, with about 20 being treated for the effects of OC spray.
Police have vowed to track down rioters who clashed with responding officers.
“Those that were involved in that riot can expect a knock at the door,” Webb said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese added: “It is not acceptable to impede and injure police doing their duty or to damage police vehicles in a way that we saw last night.”
Police declared the stabbing a terrorist attack on Tuesday morning, with Webb revealing the teen made comments indicating the attack was religiously motivated.
She said police allege the attack had “a degree of premeditation” and the teen was known to police but not on a terror watchlist.
ASIO Director-General of Security Mike Burgess said there was no indication others were involved in the stabbing and no other threats of similar incidents.
“It does appear to be religiously motivated, but we continue our lines of investigation,” Burgess said.
Police and religious leaders have urged people not to launch retaliatory attacks.
Premier Chris Minss said: “No one is asking for retribution or to take the law into their own hands, it’s my great plea that everybody in Sydney to heed those calls from NSW Police, the government and major religious leaders.”
– With AAP
