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A clergyman was shot in the 7th district of Lyon on Saturday afternoon. According to the BFMTV station, citing the local fire department, the Orthodox priest was seriously injured. According to initial reports, the attacker is on the run.
The incident is said to have occurred on rue Saint-Lazare in Lyon, not far from a Greek Orthodox church. The priest is said to have closed the church around 4 pm at the time of the crime. The perpetrator is said to have fired at least two shots with a pistol and, based on initial findings, acted alone. The 52-year-old victim suffered severe abdominal injuries, according to the AP news agency.
Emergency services are on the scene, the crime scene was cordoned off. Authorities urge residents of the region to avoid the area.
On Thursday alone, a man attacked several people with a knife in Nice, southern France, killing at least three. Investigators assume a terrorist background.
Two weeks ago, Paris history teacher Samuel Paty was allegedly beheaded by an 18-year-old from Chechnya, apparently because he had talked about a cartoon of Muhammad in class.
The new publication of Muhammad cartoons by the satirical newspaper “Charlie Hebdo” has heated up the mood against France in Muslim countries. In countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh, thousands of people took to the streets in anti-French protests. Eleven people were killed in an Islamist-motivated terror attack against the editorial team on January 7, 2015.
The French government expects more attacks and has thousands of soldiers deployed to schools and religious sites to protect citizens.
