[ad_1]
A Greek Orthodox priest was left with life-threatening gunshot wounds in the French city of Lyon.
Police said the priest, in his 40s, was fired twice as he closed a church at around 4 p.m.
Officers closed off the area and told the public to stay away while the suspect was at large. Police later confirmed that an arrest had been made.
Police and ambulance workers are on the scene.
The alleged gunman was alone and fired with a hunting rifle, a police source said, while local media described seeing an injured man being carried from the church on a stretcher.
Counterterrorism authorities were not investigating the shooting.
In a statement, a Lyon prosecutor said residents heard gunshots and screams near the church, and when officers arrived they saw an individual fleeing and found the wounded priest at the back door of the building.
It is understood that the suspect was wearing a long black raincoat and a black hat.
Antoine Callot, pastor of another Greek Orthodox church in Lyon, said he asked police for security protection at his church after the shooting.
“We are anxious and distraught. It’s really horrible,” he said. “Now we have to hide and be careful.”
In a tweet, Lyon Mayor Gregory Doucet said: “My first thoughts are with the very seriously injured victim. The motive is unknown, the suspect is on the run. An investigation is underway, let’s be careful.”
Meanwhile, the British embassy in France issued an alert about the “ongoing security incident” in the Jean-Mace area of the city’s 7th district.
It comes two days after a woman was beheaded and two others murdered by a man shouting “Allahu Akbar” in a church in Nice. The incident took place on the same day that Muslims celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad.
In a separate attack, Paris school teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded by an 18-year-old Chechen two weeks ago after showing his students a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad.
France’s defense of the right to publish cartoons depicting the Prophet has enraged many Muslims around the world and deepened tensions in the nation.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
The ministers warned of the risk of further attacks by Islamist militants.
In response to the recent violence, President Emmanuel Macron sent thousands of soldiers to protect sites such as schools and places of worship.
After today’s shooting, French Prime Minister Jean Castex reiterated his commitment to protect those places.
Protests against the French president have continued
He said the French can “count on the nation that will allow them to practice their religion in complete safety and freedom.”
But, despite this promise, there has not been an obvious visible increase in the police or military presence in many popular churches and mosques.
No one was guarding the church in Lyon attacked today or the one attacked in Nice on Thursday.
