St Joseph's Church priest stabbed during children's mass
The mass on the evening of Nov 9 at St Joseph's Church was a bit special for a group of children because they were going to receive their first communion.
But the special occasion turned horrific for the young congregants when they saw a man stab Father Christopher Lee.
Children perform duties that are typically undertaken by adults during the church's monthly children's mass and the front rows are occupied by children.
The assailant had joined the queue for communion at about 6pm. When it was his turn, he allegedly "took a knife out of his pocket and stabbed Father in the mouth", said a congregant who was there to witness her niece's first communion.
"Many of the children were in tears."
The police said the assailant, a 37-year-old Singaporean man, was disarmed by members of the congregation and subsequently arrested by police officers.
The man has past offences involving serious hurt and misuse of drugs. The police did not suspect the act to be an act of terrorism and preliminary investigations showed that he acted alone.
According to a Facebook post shared by Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam, the assailant is a Sinhalese who had earlier declared to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority that he was a Christian.
The police said the attacker will be charged in court on Nov 11 with voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapon.
Father Lee, 57, was conscious when taken to National University Hospital. He is in stable condition.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong expressed his shock at the incident.
"Violence has no place in Singapore," he wrote in a Facebook post.
"Most of all, we must uphold the safety and sanctity of our places of worship – places where people seek peace, solace, and community.
"In this case, it was fortunate that several members of the congregation helped to disarm the assailant before he could do more harm.
"Many parishioners were badly shaken by what happened, and I hope they heal from this traumatic event."
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