Roger Cook says authorities on lookout for ‘terrorist-related activity’ in WA after Sydney church stabbing

Authorities in WA are “in close contact with the Federal Government” as they prepare for any potential “terrorist-related activity” after the stabbing of a Sydney bishop. The shocking incident at an Assyrian church — which happened during a livestreamed sermon from Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel on Monday night — is being treated as a religiously-motivated terrorist attack by NSW Police. A 16-year-old boy was arrested at the scene after allegedly also injuring three others. Police were forced to barricade the alleged perpetrator inside the church for hours as an angry crowd numbering well over a thousand gathered outside. Police vehicles were smashed and a number of police officers were injured as they attempted to keep the mob at bay. The attack came just two days after Joel Cauchi killed people and injured a dozen more in an unrelated knife rampage blamed on his poor mental health at Bondi Junction shopping centre. Premier Roger Cook described the stabbing of the bishop as “incredibly distressing”. “I think we’ve all seen the graphic images or the video of that particular incident,” he said. “I understand that it has been classified as a terrorist-related offence today and the Prime Minister has stood up the security council to address any issues that are brought to bear. “Obviously our police continue to monitor these situations very carefully and we’re in close contact with the Federal Government on any terrorist-related activity which may be relevant to Western Australia. “We continue to monitor the situation, continue to monitor people who are of concern to the police and of course making sure that those who are impacted by mental health issues have the services that they need to be protected.” Mr Cook has previously flagged that he was considering handing police sweeping powers allowing them to stop and search individuals without a warrant in certain circumstances. Queensland enacted similar laws in 2023, allowing cops to use metal detector wands to search people for weapons on public transport and in nightclub precincts. More than 450 weapons — mostly knives — have been seized since. Queensland Premier Steven Miles announced in February that the powers would be expanded to include shopping centres. Mr Cook said on Monday that he was still waiting on advice from Attorney-General John Quigley, who is considering the Queensland regime, about “any further measures that we need to take in relation to keeping the community safe from knife violence”. “The knife-related laws in Queensland seem to have been very effective in terms of confiscating, I think well over 250 knives on the Gold Coast,” Mr Cook said. “So that’s obviously something that we’re paying constant attention to. “We also need to monitor about the impact in relation to (bringing down) knife crime and whether it is effective from that perspective.”