French police have shot dead two assailants who took five people hostage in a church in Normandy on Tuesday, according to the French interior ministry. It said that the police operation was now over.
One of the hostages, a priest, was killed in the attack, police sources told Agence France-Presse news agency. The Paris prosecutor said the incident was being treated as a terrorist attack.
The incident took place at a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, a few kilometres south of Rouen, where the priest was conducting morning mass.
The hostages included two nuns and two churchgoers.
French president François Hollande and interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve are on their way to the scene of the attack.
Manuel Valls, France’s prime minister, tweeted: “Horror at the barbaric attack.”
“The whole of France and Catholics are wounded.”
France has been on high alert since the atrocity in Nice this month, when an attacker ploughed a lorry into crowds celebrating Bastille Day, killing more than 80 people.
Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said on Tuesday that Pope Francis condemned the killing in Rouen “in the most drastic way”. “We are particularly shocked that this horrible violence occurred in a church, a sacred place where love of God is proclaimed, “ he added.
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
