5 teenagers charged with terrorism after Sydney Church stabbing

Five teenagers were charged with terrorism offences amid an ongoing investigation into the stabbing of two people at a Sydney Church earlier in April.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said this on Thursday in a statement.

“Five juveniles have been charged as the Joint Counter-Terrorism Team (JCTT) Sydney continues to investigate the associates of the alleged offender who conducted the stabbing at a Wakeley Church,’’ the AFP said.

More than 400 police from state and federal police executed 13 search warrants across Sydney on Wednesday night.

Seven young males were arrested.

A further five people, including two men and three teenage boys, also assisted police with their inquiries, the statement said.

A 17-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy were charged with possessing or controlling violent extremist material obtained or accessed using a carriage service.

Two 16-year-old boys were charged with conspiring to engage in any act in preparation for, or planning a terrorist act.

Another 17-year-old boy was charged with conspiring to engage in an act in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act and custody of a knife in a public place.

A number of items, including electronic material, were also seized as a result of the police operation.

Last week, a 16-year-old boy was charged with a terrorism offence in relation to the stabbing at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, western Sydney, on April 15.

A 53-year-old man sustained significant injuries to his head while a 39-year-old man sustained lacerations and a shoulder wound when he attempted to intervene.

The 16-year-old boy, who had been restrained by members of the public, was arrested.

Declaring a crime an act of terrorism gave police extra investigative powers, to determine whether a person acted alone or was part of a wider network.