The Associated Press
Staff
LYON, FRANCE –
A Greek Orthodox priest was shot dead on Saturday as he closed his church in the French city of Lyon, and authorities have locked down part of the town to drive out the assailant, authorities said
The priest, a Greek citizen, is in a local hospital with fatal injuries after being shot twice in the abdomen, a police official told The Associated Press The attacker was alone and fired a shotgun, said the official, who was not authorized to be named publicly
Police cordoned off the largely residential neighborhood around the church and arrested a person who looks like the gunman’s descriptions but who was unarmed at the time of his arrest, the Lyon prosecutor said in a statement He said investigators were trying to determine his identity
As night fell in Lyon, an Associated Press reporter saw tapes of police and emergency vehicles throughout the neighborhood National police tweeted that a « serious public security incident » was underway
The reason for the shooting was not clear It came two days after an extremist Islamic knife attack on a Catholic church in the French city of Nice that killed three people, and amid continuing geopolitical tensions, cartoons mocking the Muslim prophet Muhammad published in the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo
French counterterrorism authorities were monitoring the case but not investigating Saturday’s shooting The interior minister activated a special emergency team to monitor the manhunt, and the Lyon prosecutor opened an investigation for attempted murder
« No theory is privileged, no theory is excluded », declared the mayor of Lyon Gregory Doucet to the journalists on the spot « We do not know at this stage the motive for this attack »
Antoine Callot, the pastor of another Greek Orthodox church in Lyon, identified the injured priest as Nikolas Kakavelakis, a 45-year-old father of two Callot told the AP the Greek Orthodox community in Lyon had not received any threats, but said he immediately asked police for security protection in his church after the shooting.
« We are anxious and anxious It’s really horrible, » he said « Now we have to hide and be careful »
Residents and a local police patrol heard gunshots near the church, and when officers arrived, they saw an individual fleeing and found the priest wounded by the back door of the church, said the Lyon prosecutor in a statement
Prime Minister Jean Castex reiterated government promises to deploy military forces to religious sites and schools He said the French can « count on the nation to enable them to practice their religion in safety and freedom »
The government has been promising additional security in churches, mosques and other religious sites for several days, but PA journalists saw few visible signs of an increased police or military presence No one kept the church targeted on Saturday in Lyon, or the church attacked in Nice on Thursday
The Greek Foreign Ministry said in a statement: « We condemn the attack on an Orthodox priest of Greek origin near the Church of the Annunciation in Lyon, France. The Foreign Ministry is in constant contact with competent French authorities «
Seeking to calm tensions and explain France’s defense of prophetic caricatures, President Emmanuel Macron gave an interview broadcast Saturday on the Arab channel Al-Jazeera Macron also tweeted that « our country has no problem with any religion They are all practiced here freely! No stigma: France is committed to peace and living together in harmony »
Police officers and rescuers block access to the scene after a Greek Orthodox priest was shot dead on Saturday October31 January 2020 as he closed his church in the city of Lyon, central France (AP Photo / Laurent Cipriani)
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France, Eastern Orthodox Church, Lyon
News from around the world – CA – Orthodox priest shot dead in church in France, motive unknown
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
