French authorities claim he planned to attack a church in the Paris suburb of Villejuif.
Advertisement
Roberto Maroni, the president of the Lombard region in Italy, said in an appeal circulated on social media that “Father Jacques is a martyr of faith” and requested that the pope “immediately proclaim him St. Jacques”.
A French intelligence source told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that one of the attackers had been radicalized after the Charlie Hebdo killings and had tried to enter Syria on two occasions and was associated with Maxime Hauchard, another French jihadi who appeared in an ISIS beheading video in 2014. The attack happened between 09:45 AM and 11:00 AM.
“It’s unfortunate, discouraging to see attacks all around the world, (but) a shock and a bit bizarre” that one occurred in Saint-Etienne, he said. “And that’s when the tragedy happened”, said the nun, identified as Sister Danielle. He wanted to defend himself.
“They recorded themselves. They did a sort of sermon around the altar, in Arabic. It’s a horror”, she told BFM television.
“We are with him”, said Fatima, who only gave her first name.
In Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, about 35 miles southeast of the port of Le Havre, French soldiers patrolled the narrow streets and mourners gathered in the main square.
French President Francois Hollande condemned what he called a “vile terrorist attack”.
As the attackers came out of the church shouting “Allahu akbar” (“God is Greatest”) they were shot and killed by police.
A third suspect has reportedly been arrested outside the church.
According to the London Daily Express, security sources said one of the murderers was a convicted terrorist who was being monitored with an electronic tag.
Two attackers killed a priest with a blade and seriously wounded another hostage in a church in northern France on Tuesday before being shot dead by French police.
The identity of the other assailant has not yet been revealed.
In a statement, Vatican Spokesman Father Lombardi said, “the Pope has been informed and participates in the sorrow and horror of this absurd violence with a radical condemnation of every form of hate, and prayer for those affected”.
Hollande said he was calling a meeting on Wednesday of representatives of all religions in France.
“We will stand together”, Valls said on Twitter.
According to France’s National Human Rights Commission (CNCDH) there were 429 anti-Muslim threats and attacks in 2015 – a rise of 223% from the previous year.
The militant group Islamic State, through its affiliated Amaq news agency, claimed responsibility.
The canonization process is a lengthy one involving two miracles attributed to the person’s intercession, but in the case of a martyr only one miracle is needed, after beatification. Police have also officially confirmed the death of one victim, who was killed with a blade.
French President Francois Hollande was on his way to the site of the attack.
Advertisement
Jean-Pierre Raffarin, a former conservative prime minister who now heads the Senate’s foreign affairs committee tweeted: “Everything is being done to trigger a war of religions”.
