One Dead and Four Injured in Algeciras Church Attacks

Police outside one of the churches in Algeciras

A sexton has been killed following machete attacks on two churches in the Spanish city of Algeciras, with four injured including a priest from one of the churches.

The culprit was apprehended and is currently in the custody of the national police of Spain. The ministry was not able to identify him.

At approximately 7 p.m., the armed man entered the San Isidro church and attacked a priest, who was severely injured.

The attacker then walked five minutes to a second church, the Nuestra Seora de La Palma, where he resumed his tirade by assaulting the sexton. The sexton, whose job it is to maintain and care for the church, escaped outdoors, where the attacker fatally wounded him in a public place.

The Algeciras town hall identified Diego Valencia as the sexton and Antonio Rodrguez as the wounded priest. The town hall reported that Rodrguez was hospitalized and in stable condition.

The municipal government has declared a day of mourning; flags will be flown at half-staff.

A judge has initiated an investigation into a probable act of terrorism, according to Spain’s national court.

According to the interior ministry, police are investigating the event to ascertain the “nature of the attack.” It supplied no other information regarding the attacker’s suspected motive.

Francisco Garca, the general secretary of Spain’s Episcopal Conference, remarked on Twitter, “I have received the news of the incident in Algeciras with great pain.”

“These are sad moments of suffering, we are united by the pain of families of the victims and for the diocese of Cádiz,” he concluded.