Father of boy accused of stabbing 2 Sydney clerics saw no signs of extremism, Muslim leader says

By MARK BAKER and ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

SYDNEY (AP) — A Muslim community leader in Australia says the father of a boy accused of stabbing two Christian clerics saw no signs of his son’s extremism. The 16-year-old boy spoke in Arabic about the Prophet Muhammad after he stabbed a bishop and a priest during a Sydney church service on Monday night that was being streamed online. Neither cleric sustained life-threatening injuries. The Orthodox Assyrian congregation overpowered the boy and he remained in an undisclosed hospital on Wednesday under police guard. Lebanese Muslim Association secretary Gamel Kheir says he spent two hours with the boy’s shocked father in the family home soon after the attack. The family has since left their home for fear of retaliation.