(Article in update)
A 52-year-old orthodox priest was seriously injured after being shot in front of the church this Saturday afternoon, where he is doing pastoral service in Lyon, France. The perpetrator then fled, the French newspaper said. The world.
Police are at the scene urging residents to avoid the Jean Macé area. The priest, of Greek nationality, was shot at the door of the church as he prepared to close the door. The attacker will have been a man alone.
O Le Figaro adds that the 52-year-old priest was hit in the abdomen. He has 3 children. The newspaper writes that no relationship to terrorism has yet been established.
???? #ALERT | An event is underway near the Jean-Macé sector, in the 7th arrondissement in #Lyon.
Security and rescue forces are there. A security perimeter has been installed.
⚠️ Avoid the area and follow the instructions of the authorities. pic.twitter.com/ZZxeTADcAF– Ministry of the Interior – Alert (@Beauvau_Alerte) October 31, 2020
Le Monde adds that the attack took place at 4 pm local time (3 pm in mainland Portugal) and that the attacker shot twice at the priest.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex has already reacted in the city of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, where he was to pay tribute to Father Jacques Hamel, murdered in 2016 in a terrorist attack. Castex said that he still did not have “specific information about the circumstances” of what happened in Lyon, but he assured that the government will do everything to ensure that each one can practice “their worship in complete security and in total freedom”.
“Our determination will not weaken”: Jean Castex reacts to the attack on a priest in Lyon pic.twitter.com/wOBeuI14YT
— BFM Lyon (@BFMLyon) October 31, 2020
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced on Twitter that he has already established a “crisis unit” to monitor the case, which includes Emmanuel Macron and Jean Castex.
#Lyon : Avoid the area and follow the instructions.
Support for our security and rescue forces on site.
I return to Paris and open the crisis unit, in conjunction with the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister.— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) October 31, 2020
This crime happens two days after three attacks on France. On Thursday morning, a man beheaded a woman and killed two others in the Notre-Dame Basilica in Nice. The perpetrator of the attack was identified as Brahim Aoussaoui, a 21-year-old young man from Tunisia. The attack was quickly dubbed a “terrorist attack”.
Hours later, in Avignon, another man tried to attack several people on the street with a gun, but was shot by the police. On the same day, in Saudi Arabia, a guard at the French consulate in Jeddah was attacked with a “sharp tool”. The attacker was arrested; the guard, a security company employee, was injured and transported to the hospital, but was not at risk of death.
After the Nice attack, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the reinforcement of 3,000 to 7,000 military personnel in the so-called Operation Sentinel, which is dedicated to fighting terrorism.
Attack in France. Suspect will be 21-year-old Tunisian youth
–
