An armed assailant killed an acolyte with a machete and injured four people in two Spanish churches. A priest was among the wounded, state television station RTVE and other Spanish media reported, citing police. The alleged assailant was arrested shortly thereafter. After the bloody crime in Algeciras, in southern Spain, the Public Ministry opened a preliminary investigation into suspected terrorism, wrote the newspaper “El País”.
suspect 25 years
The sexton’s body was reportedly found in a public square in front of a church in the Andalusian city. The suspect is a 25-year-old Moroccan. According to eyewitnesses, the man invaded the church of San Isidro shouting “for Allah” and exhorting people to profess Islam, reported the newspaper “elDiario.es”. He injured the priest who was present with the machete. Three women managed to escape the church and alerted the police of a nearby barber shop.
Author already convicted and known to the police
According to the report, the criminal then ran to the La Palma church, just 200 meters away, where he threatened the clergy. The altar boy opposed him and followed him into the street, where the attacker mortally wounded him, continued “elDiario.es”. Shortly thereafter, the alleged perpetrator was arrested by the police. He had no criminal record and was not known to the police.
The head of regional government of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Juanma Moreno, condemned the crime on Twitter, but at the same time asked for prudence while “the facts are being investigated”. He assured that “intolerance will never have a place in our society”. The mayor of Algeciras, José Ignacio Landaluce, said he was shocked and ordered a day of mourning in the city.