A man in Australia was stabbed at Sydney’s Scientology church, and its leaders believe Leah Remini’s ‘poisonous’ TV show is to blame
- A 24-year-old Scientologist was stabbed in the neck with a large kitchen knife on January 3 by a teenager he was escorting off the church premises in Sydney
- Church leaders say former Scientologist Leah Remini’s documentary on the church has influenced ‘the hate that caused his murder’
Two weeks after a member of the Church of Scientology in Australia was killed in a stabbing, the religious organisation is claiming the attack is tied directly to the church’s critics.
On the driveway snaking into the sprawling 145,000-square-feet building in Sydney’s Chatswood neighbourhood, church member Chih-Jen Yeh, 24, was stabbed in the neck with a large kitchen knife by a 16-year-old boy that Yeh was escorting off the property, said New South Wales Police.
A 30-year-old man was also injured in the attack, which occurred at around 12.30pm on January 3. Both the victim and alleged attacker were Taiwanese nationals, police said.
The 16-year-old suspect has been charged with murder. He is currently in custody.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the teenager – who has not been publicly identified – was at the centre because his mother was going through a “purification ceremony”. But little else has been released about a possible motive, wrapping the vicious crime in mystery.