St Joseph's Church stabbing: S'porean Sinhalese man, 37, arrested, has past offences for serious hurt & misuse of drugs

A 37-year-old Singaporean Sinhalese man has been arrested after a knife attack on a priest at St Joseph's Church at Upper Bukit Timah, Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam said in a Facebook post. 

It has also been revealed that the man stabbed Catholic priest Father Christopher Lee.

Shanmugam said on the evening of Nov. 9 that the man had previously declared to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) that he was Christian.

He added that Lee is currently in a stable condition following the incident, which occurred during mass.

Members of the congregation helped subdue attacker: Singapore Catholic Church

In a press statement on Nov. 9, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore said that it is "saddened" about the incident, and confirmed that it occurred during the 5:30pm mass.

The church said that the man was subdued by members of the congregation in attendance, including the Archdiocesan Emergency Response team.

It added: "We ask that the faithful remain calm and avoid speculation on social media while the police carry out their investigations. The Church does not condone violence of any kind."

The church has urged the public to pray for the priest's speedy recovery, the alleged attacker, and those present at the mass especially children who may have been affected by the incident.

It added that it will provide updates when more information is made available.

Man has past offences, believed to have acted alone

In response to Mothership's queries, the police revealed that the man has past antecedents for serious hurt and misuse of drugs offences.

Based on the preliminary investigations, the police believe the man acted alone, and do not suspect that this is an act of terrorism, for now.

The public is urged to remain calm and refrain from speculation as investigations are ongoing to ascertain the motive behind this incident.

Top photo from Laurence Goh/Google Maps