The Blaze
In the hours after two attackers took hostages inside a French church during morning mass on Tuesday near the city of Rouen, slitting the throat of one elderly priest before being killed by police, one nun is speaking out about the grisly assault.
The nun, identified only as Sister Danielle, was in the church at the time of the attack for which the Islamic State claimed responsibility. Describing what happened as the attackers viciously murdered 86-year-old Rev. Jacques Hamel, she called the onslaught as “a horror.”
“They forced [Hamel] to his knees, she told French media, according to the BBC. “He wanted to defend himself, and that’s when the tragedy happened.”
“They recorded themselves,” she continued. “They did a sort of sermon around the altar, in Arabic. It’s a horror.”The nun said as soon as she saw the attackers, she thought it was all over. She said the radicals told her, “You Christians — you kill us.” She described the slain priest as a “faithful” leader “who loved everybody.”
In the wake of Hamel’s death, residents of all religious stripes have spoken out in shock. Local Imam Mohammed Karabila said he was “stunned by the death of my friend. He was someone who gave his life to others.”
A regional Muslim leader said one of the two attackers was known by police. This was the first attack inside a French church in recent history. Another church was targeted last year, but the attack was never carried out.
No comments:
Post a Comment