The southern Spanish city of Algeciras was in shock on Thursday, a day after a machete-wielding attacker entered two churches and killed a verger and severely injured a priest.
Following the Wednesday evening incident near the city’s port, Spanish authorities quickly began a terrorism investigation.
The attacker was apprehended at the site, and a police source identified him as a Moroccan guy aged 25.
“Just after 7:00 p.m. (1800 GMT), a man armed with a machete entered the church of San Isidro in Algeciras, where he severely injured the priest,” according to a statement from the interior ministry.
“Thereafter, he entered the church of Nuestra Senora de La Palma, where he caused damage before attacking the verger.”
The verger, Diego Valencia, “managed to escape the church but was fatally wounded by the attacker outside,” according to the report, which identified the attacker’s weapon as a machete.
The two churches are separated by several hundred meters and are placed very near to the port in this about 120,000-person city.
The emergency services reported that the priest received neck injuries.
Antonio Rodriguez, 74, was attacked while celebrating the Eucharist at San Isidro church, according to his parish, which described his condition as “serious but stable.”
A police source told AFP that the attacker wore a long robe and “shouted something” during the assault.
Approximately 7:30 p.m., witnesses at Nuestra Senora de La Palma told local media that an attacker raced inside the building shouting and began tossing icons, crosses, and candles to the ground.
The mayor of Algeciras has declared a day of mourning and called on citizens to gather for a protest in front of the church where the verger died at midday (1100 GMT).
Residents of the town, which serves as the principal port for ferries and other vessels traveling between Spain and Morocco, were stunned.
Juan Jose Marina, the parish priest of Nuestra Senora de La Palma, told public radio that such an incident was inconceivable because “our ties with the Islamic world in Algeciras are good and we’ve never had a problem of any kind.”
Dris Mohamed Amar, a representative for the local Muslim community, said on the same radio program, “It defies all logic,” adding that he hoped “it was an isolated case by a demented lunatic and not something premeditated.”
»After horrific church attacks, Spain was rattled«