Wakeley church stabbing, Sydney: Horrific details emerge of night of terror ... trends now

Disturbing new details have emerged about a violent riot that erupted outside a church after its bishop was allegedly stabbed several times by a teenage boy.

Up to 2,000 furious locals gathered outside Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, in Sydney's south-west, from about 7pm on Monday after Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was allegedly attacked.

The sermon was being live-streamed when a 16-year-old allegedly confronted the bishop and stabbed him.

Hundreds of locals were alerted about the incident by social media and turned up 'wanting blood', with an out-of-control riot surrounding the church for several hours.

Police then descended onto the church, deploying pepper spray on some of those who'd gathered, which left people vomiting and struggling to see.

A friend of the church, Dominic Cammareri, who lives, said he was caught up in the violence and was pepper sprayed from a distance.

'People were vomiting from the pepper spray and running into people's homes to get water,' he said.

He blamed the power of social media for the way things escalated so dramatically.

'If it wasn't for social media, the police would have arrived before the people rioting and this wouldn't have happened,' he said.

'They wanted blood. It was a great build-up of mayhem.

'My only concern was for the bishop's welfare. He is recovering but I don't think he'll be released from hospital any time soon.'

Nearby Welcome Street was covered in shattered glass and rubbish on Tuesday morning.

Bricks were seen sprawled across the ground, while wooden fence palings which had been torn off and used as weapons were also left behind.

Plastic bottles, a vape and odd shoes were also scattered along the road and nature strip.

A group of neighbours understood to be members of the church used brooms and shovels to try and clean up some of the debris as camera crews lined the usually quiet street.