A machete-wielding man killed a church maintenance worker and wounded several people, including a priest, at two churches in southern Spain on Wednesday, and authorities are investigating possible terrorist motives.
The horror unfolded in the city of Algeciras, near the southern tip of Spain, around 7 p.m. A gunman entered the church of San Isidro and assaulted a priest, who was seriously injured, Spain’s Interior Ministry said. .
Police work next to the body of a murdered man in Algeciras, southern Spain, on Wednesday, January 25, 2023.
(Nono Rico/Europa Press via AP)
The assailant went to a second church, that of Nuestra Señora de La Palma, a five-minute walk away, and continued his rampage, assaulting a church maintenance worker. The worker ran to where the attacker inflicted fatal wounds on a public square, the ministry said.
Local media reported that at least three other people were injured.
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Municipal authorities identified the worker as Diego Valencia and the wounded priest as Antonio Rodríguez. The city council said he was hospitalized and in stable condition.
The suspect was arrested and is in the custody of the Spanish National Police. The ministry did not identify him, but local media reported that the attacker was a 25-year-old Moroccan.
People gather next to a funeral vehicle at the scene of a stabbing at a church in Algeciras, Spain, on January 25, 2023 in this screenshot from a video.
(FORTA/via REUTERS)
Video footage obtained by Reuters shows two officers escorting a man wearing a hoodie and handcuffs through a police station.
Spain’s National Court said a judge has opened an investigation into a possible act of terrorism. Police are investigating the incident, the Home Office said, to determine the “nature of the attack”. He did not offer further details about the attacker’s possible motive.
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“I want to express my sincere condolences to the families of the [church maintenance worker] murdered in the terrible attack in Algeciras”, wrote the president of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, on Twitter. “I wish a speedy recovery to the wounded”.
The City Council declared a day of mourning in which the flags will fly at half mast.
“We are all stunned by these events, which have filled us with pain,” said Mayor José Landaluce. “Algeciras has always been a city where harmony and tolerance reign, despite incidents like this that create an image that does not correspond to reality.”
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Algeciras lies across a bay from Gibraltar and is home to a major port with ferry connections to North Africa.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
