Sonny Bill Williams has shared a bizarre message about the Sydney's church sermon stabbing from controversial influencer Andrew Tate.
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was preaching at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley in Sydney's west on Monday just after 7pmwhen a 16-year-old boy dressed in black walked up to the altar and allegedly stabbed him multiple times.
Horrifying footage of the incident, which was broadcast live on the church's YouTubepage, showed Bishop Emmanuel looking up in astonishment as the attacker suddenly rained down blows on his face and head.
That footage quickly circulated on social media, with former All Blacksstar Williams, 38, sharing it from Tate's X account with a message to Bishop Emmanuel.
Tate's original post onX linked the stabbing tocomments Bishop Emmanuel had supposedly made aboutthe Israel-Gaza war.
While the stabbing has been declared an act of terror by NSW Police, the alleged motive of the teenage suspect has not been disclosed.
Tate, who is facing allegations of rape, captioned the video of the attack: 'Anti Zionist preacher "Stopping killing little Muslim girls, they are angels" stabbed in Sydney Australia'.
Sonny Bill Williams shared a message from accused rapist Andrew Tate as he reacted to a shocking stabbing in a Sydney church on Monday night
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was stabbed during a service he gave in Sydney (pictured)
The two-time Rugby World Cup winner shared the clip from Tate, posting: 'Praying for his full recovery,' alongside an open palm emoji.
The horror incident sparked unrest outside the church as hundreds gathered in protest, hurling bottles and bricks at a hastily-erected police barrier as chants of 'an eye for an eye' and 'bring him out' could be heard.
Footage immediately after the attack has emerged of the alleged attacker being pinned down on his front by at least three people, including a police officer, as he smiles and appears 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 come and (allegedly) do this?', the man says as he lightly slaps him on his cheek.
The police officer interjects: 'Stop, just let go, please. You're going to make it worse.'
But then the man holding the camera pulls the other man's leg away to reveal the alleged attacker's face.
He is smiling and appears to laugh as the man holding the camera says 'you're a f***ing idiot, you're going to cop it'.
The alleged attacker then appears to say: 'You think they'll hurt my brother?' as the police officers try to usher the men away.
Following the stabbing, groups of police officers, completely outnumbered, huddled together as bottles and bricks were hurled at them.
Tate (pictured) 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 on social media appeared to show a ladder being used to smash down a window of the church.
Police tried to hold a perimeter in nearby Welcome Park but were broken on a number of occasions by rioters who ran towards the church.
They then deployed tear gas to allow their officers to move out of the area.
Some of those gathered could be heard shouting 'they attack us with gas'.
On Tuesday, police labelled the attack as a terror 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 he was gunned down by a police officer.
A spokesperson for NSW Police said Bishop Emmanuel suffered 'non-life threatening injuries'.
'Officers arrested a male and he is assisting police with inquiries,' the spokesperson added.
There were hostile scenes outside Christ The Good Shepherd Church on Monday night
Worshippers gathered outside the church with tensions palpable following the attack
Police were deployed to deal with the situation in Sydney's western suburbs
Daily Mail Australia approached NSW Ambulance for comment.
Bishop Emmanuel has a large flock on social media, with over 17,000 followers on Facebook.
He gained notoriety during the pandemic when he slammed Sydney’s Covid lockdown as 'mass slavery' and claimed vaccines are futile because living 'normally' will boost immunity.
Christ The Good Shepherd Church has almost 200,000 subscribers on YouTube.
