A machete-wielding man killed a sexton and wounded a priest in attacks on two churches in the city of Algeciras on Wednesday before being arrested, Spain’s interior ministry said, in what authorities are investigating as a possible act of terrorism.
The suspect was arrested in the southern city and is being held by the Spanish National Police. The ministry did not identify him.
The attack started around 7pm. when the gunman entered San Isidro church and assaulted a seriously injured priest, the ministry said.
The attacker then went to a second church, Nuestra Señora de La Palma – a five minute walk away – where he entered and continued his killing spree, attacking the sexton. The sacristan who has the task of guarding the church and its maintenance. he fled outside where the assailant inflicted his fatal wounds in a public square, the ministry said.
Local media reported that at least three other people were injured.
Spain’s National Court of Justice announced that a judge had launched an investigation into a possible terrorist attack.
Police are investigating the incident, the Home Office said, to determine the “nature of the attack”. It did not provide further details on the attacker’s possible motive.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez joined in condolences.
“I want to express my sincerest condolences for the families of the sexton slain in the terrible attack in Algeciras,” Sánchez wrote on Twitter. “I desire the injured a swift recovery,” reports CBS News.
“These are sad moments of suffering, we are united by the pain of families of the victims and for the Diocese of Cádiz,” the secretary general of Spain’s Episcopal Conference, Francisco García, wrote on Twitter, reports CBS News.
Algeciras is near the southern tip of Spain, across a bay from Gibraltar. There is a major port here with ferry connections to North Africa.
“We are all stunned by these acts, which have filled us with pain,” Mayor José Landaluce said, reports CBS News.
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