Community reels from Spanish machete church attack horror

ALGECIRAS, Spain (AP) — Residents of the Spanish metropolis of Algeciras recounted their shock after a machete-wielding attacker jumped on the altar of a church earlier than chasing a sufferer right into a metropolis sq. and inflicting mortal wounds.

The assaults on two church buildings by a single assailant on Wednesday night time have shaken the town, close to the southern tip of Spain throughout from a bay from Gibraltar.

The Inside Ministry stated the person killed within the assault was a sacristan, a person who prepares Mass, at Nuestra Señora de La Palma, whereas a priest was wounded earlier at one other church. The Algeciras city corridor stated the sacristan was named Diego Valencia and recognized the wounded priest as Antonio Rodríguez.

Manolo Gonzalez, one other sacristan at Nuestra Señora de La Palma, stated he knew Valencia. The attacker climbed on the altar, Gonzalez stated, and Valencia got here out “and requested to know what was occurring.” He was confronted by a person wielding a machete, so fled outdoors to a public sq.. The attacker pursued him after which inflicted mortal wounds.

Rodríguez stays in a critical situation.

Spain’s inside minister is because of go to the town later immediately, the ministry stated. Flags had been flown at half-staff in Algeciras, house to an essential port with ferry connections to northern Africa, and a minute’s silence was to be held later within the day.