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A priest has been killed in the Normandy region of northern France after two men armed with knives took hostages in a church before being shot dead, French police have said.
A police source told Reuters it appeared the priest’s throat had been slit. A French interior ministry spokesman said a second hostage was in a critical condition.
Five people – reportedly a priest, two nuns and two worshippers – were taken hostage by the assailants in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, near Rouen. French media reported that one of the hostages managed to escape to raise the alarm.
The motivations for the hostage-taking were not yet clear, but the Paris prosecutor’s office said the case had been handed to anti-terrorism judges for investigation.
The French president, François Hollande, and the interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve were en route to Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray on Tuesday.
The prime minister, Manuel Valls, said the attack was a blow to all Catholics and the whole of France. “We will stand together,” Valls said on Twitter. The Vatican said it was a “barbaric killing” made even more heinous because it happened in a sacred place.
The incident comes as France remains on high alert nearly two weeks after a man ploughed a truck into a crowd of people celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, killing 84 people and injuring more than 300.
The Nice attack was the third major strike on France in 18 months and was claimed by Islamic State. Two attacks in Germany claimed by Isis since then have also heightened tensions in Europe.
After the attack in Nice, France extended a state of emergency for another six months. The measure gives police extra powers to carry out searches and place people under house arrest.
A police source told Reuters it appeared the priest’s throat had been slit. A French interior ministry spokesman said a second hostage was in a critical condition.
Five people – reportedly a priest, two nuns and two worshippers – were taken hostage by the assailants in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, near Rouen. French media reported that one of the hostages managed to escape to raise the alarm.
The motivations for the hostage-taking were not yet clear, but the Paris prosecutor’s office said the case had been handed to anti-terrorism judges for investigation.
The French president, François Hollande, and the interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve were en route to Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray on Tuesday.
The prime minister, Manuel Valls, said the attack was a blow to all Catholics and the whole of France. “We will stand together,” Valls said on Twitter. The Vatican said it was a “barbaric killing” made even more heinous because it happened in a sacred place.
The incident comes as France remains on high alert nearly two weeks after a man ploughed a truck into a crowd of people celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, killing 84 people and injuring more than 300.
The Nice attack was the third major strike on France in 18 months and was claimed by Islamic State. Two attacks in Germany claimed by Isis since then have also heightened tensions in Europe.
After the attack in Nice, France extended a state of emergency for another six months. The measure gives police extra powers to carry out searches and place people under house arrest.
