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Investigators are trying to determine if the arrested man was the assailant behind the attack or if he has information about it.
French police questioned a suspect and searched for others on Sunday after a Greek Orthodox priest was shot and seriously injured while closing the doors of his church in the French city of Lyon.
Investigators are trying to determine if a man arrested Saturday night was the assailant behind the attack or has information about it, according to a police officer.
The priest remains in critical condition after being shot at point-blank range, said the official, who was not authorized to be publicly identified under police policy.
The motive for the shooting remains unclear. Counterterrorism prosecutors are not investigating the case and the Lyon prosecutor opened an investigation for attempted murder.
The attack came as France is under high-security alert after the murder of three people in a Nice church on Thursday, amid global tensions over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad published in a French newspaper.
Many Muslims around the world are also angered by French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments that Islam “is in crisis” and his refusal to condemn the cartoons. Any representation of the Prophet is prohibited in Islam.
The French prime minister has promised more protection for religious sites.
‘Condemn all forms of violence’
The shooting also came amid tensions within the Greek Orthodox community in Lyon. The priest, a Greek citizen, had a long-running legal dispute with a former monk who had been convicted of defamation, according to French media reports.
The Holy Greek Orthodox Diocese of France identified the victim as Father Nikolaos Kakavelakis and said he was scheduled to return to Greece soon after his time working at the Lyon church.
“We pray for a speedy recovery and unequivocally condemn all forms of violence,” he said.
Antoine Callot, pastor of another Greek Orthodox church in Lyon, told The Associated Press that the Greek Orthodox community in Lyon has not received any threats, but said he immediately asked police for security protection at his church after the shooting.
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