Sonny Bill Williams has shared a shocking message about the stabbing in controversial influencer Andrew Tate’s church sermon.
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was preaching at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, western Sydney, just after 7pm on Monday when a 15-year-old boy dressed in black walked up to the altar and allegedly stabbed him several times.
Gruesome footage of the incident, which was broadcast live on the church’s YouTube page, shows Bishop Emmanuel looking up in surprise as the attacker suddenly receives blows to his face and head.
That footage quickly circulated on social media, with former All Blacks star Williams, 38, sharing it from Andrew Tate’s X account with a message to Bishop Emmanuel.
Tate, who is facing rape charges, captioned the video of the attack: ‘Anti-Zionist preacher “Stop killing little Muslim girls, they’re angels” stabbed in Sydney, Australia’.
Sonny Bill Williams shared a message from accused rapist Andrew Tate as he responded to a shocking stabbing at a Sydney church on Monday night
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was stabbed during a service he held in Sydney (photo)
The two-time Rugby World Cup winner shared Tate’s clip, posting: “Praying for his full recovery,” alongside an open palm emoji.
The horror incident caused unrest outside the church as hundreds of people gathered in protest, throwing bottles and rocks at a hastily erected police barrier, while chants of ‘an eye for an eye’ and ‘bring him out’ could be heard.
Immediately after the attack, images emerged of the alleged attacker being pinned to his front by at least three people, including a police officer, as he laughed and appeared to mock his captors.
One man, with blood visible on his jeans, sits with his legs straddling the alleged attacker’s head.
“People are praying and you (presumably) come to do this?” says the man, lightly slapping him on the cheek.
The police officer injects: ‘Stop, please let go. You’re going to make it worse.’
But then the man holding the camera pulls the other man’s leg away, revealing the alleged attacker’s face.
He smiles and appears to be laughing when the man holding the camera says, “You’re a fucking idiot, you’re going to fix it.”
The alleged attacker then appears to say, “Do you think they will hurt my brother?” as the police officers try to lead the men away.
After the stabbing, completely outnumbered groups of police officers gathered as bottles and stones were hurled at them.
Tate (pictured) and his brother Tristan have been accused of rape and human trafficking in Romania
Former All Black Sonny Bill, 38, sent his prayers on social media after the attack
Some in the crowd cheered as car windows were smashed.
Footage emerged on social media showing a ladder being used to smash a window at the church.
Police attempted to set up a perimeter at nearby Welcome Park, but were broken several times by rioters running toward the church.
They then used tear gas to force their officers to leave the area.
Some of those present were heard shouting: “They are attacking us with gas.”
On Tuesday, police labeled the attack as a terrorist incident.
It comes just 48 hours after six people were murdered in Westfield Bondi Junction by a crazed knifeman.
Joel Cauchi, 40, stabbed five women and a male security guard to death and injured several others before being shot by a police officer.
A NSW Police spokesperson said Bishop Emmanuel suffered “non-life-threatening injuries”.
“Officers have arrested a man and he is assisting police with inquiries,” the spokesperson added.
There were hostile scenes outside Christ The Good Shepherd Church on Monday evening
Worshipers gathered outside the church and tensions were palpable after the attack
Police were deployed to tackle the situation in Sydney’s western suburbs
Ny Breaking Australia approached NSW Ambulance for comment.
Bishop Emmanuel has a large social media following, with over 17,000 followers on Facebook.
He rose to prominence during the pandemic when he branded Sydney’s Covid lockdown “mass slavery” and claimed vaccines are useless because “normal” living will boost immunity.
Christ The Good Shepherd Church has almost 200,000 subscribers on YouTube.