Speaking outside the church, French President Francois Hollande called it a “dreadful terrorist attack” and told reporters the attackers had pledged allegiance to ISIL, also known as ISIS. A police source said it appeared that the priest had had his throat slit. He was arrested near the church, she told CNN.
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Sister Daniele Delafosse was able to escape the attack, she said, according to BFMTV.
She said: “They forced him to his knees”.
The slain priest had been at the church for the past decade and “was always ready to help”, said Rouen diocese official Philippe Maheut. They headed for the police crying “Allah akhbar” and were shot down. “The two killers came out and they were neutralized”, he said.
The attack comes as France is on high alert after an attack in Nice that killed 84 people and a string of deadly attacks a year ago claimed by ISIS.
After Nice, France extended a state of emergency for the fourth time since IS jihadists struck Paris in November, killing 130 people.
“When they violate the sanctity of a church, attacking and beheading an 85 year-old priest while he is celebrating mass – we will now realise that appeasement never works and this is total war“, Mr Kelly wrote on Facebook. However he was released by a judge in March and put under house arrest.
French authorities have struggled to monitor thousands of domestic Islamic radicals on their radar. Hollande said the terrorists will stop at nothing, adding, “We must rage war against Daesh (ISIS)”. “We have to win that war”. The attack left 84 Bastille Day revelers dead and the Islamic State claimed responsibility. ISIL claimed that attack.
The U.K.’s terror threat alert is now at “severe”, meaning an attack is highly likely.
“Many more Muslims than Christians are killed because they are Muslims, so we pray and we are going to pray at Mass in a few minutes for peace and for all those who are killed because they believe in God”.
A somber quiet surrounded Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, a suburb of the medieval city of Rouen composed of genteel residential neighborhoods and working-class quarters with massive apartment blocks.
A horrified local resident, Cecile Lefebre, said: “I have no words”. “Together, let’s be the last ones to cry; and together, let’s be the last ones standing against barbarism in the respect of all”.
Paris prosecutor also confirmed that a 16-year-old teenager was placed under custody in the investigation.
So what do we know about the two attackers? The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said in a statement that Pope Francis expressed his “pain and horror for this absurd violence, with the strongest condemnation for every form of hatred and prayer for those affected”. Violence is not the answer, the only answer is really love.
Hollande called for “unity” in the country and rejected opposition calls to further harden anti-terrorism legislation.
Following the attack, religious leaders, including those from the Muslim community, issued messages of solidarity.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls Tweeted his “horror at the barbaric attack… the whole of France and all Catholics are wounded”.
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“They die because they are objects of hate and this for a fact gives us an additional motivation to live the life of fraternity we are called to”. The reason for the raid and the identity of the man arrested were not immediately clear.
