2 masked assailants attack a Roman Catholic church in Istanbul and kill 1 person
ISTANBUL (AP) — Two masked assailants attacked a Roman Catholic church in Istanbul throughout a Sunday Mass, killing one person, Turkish officers mentioned.
The armed assailants attacked the Santa Maria Church in the Sariyer district at 11:40 a.m. (0840 GMT or 3:30 a.m. EST), Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya mentioned in a assertion on X, previously often known as Twitter. He didn’t specify what sort of weapons had been used or whether or not anybody else was wounded.
Turkish authorities haven’t formally recognized the sufferer, however native media say the person who was killed had the initials C.T. and was 52 years outdated.
Yerlikaya condemned the attack and mentioned authorities had been engaged on capturing the assailants. An investigation was opened.
A brief video circulating on social media apparently depicts the second of the attack, with two masked males getting into the church and opening hearth, with all service-goers hitting the ground. The two males then abruptly depart.
Turkish authorities have instituted a media ban on protection of the attack.
Sukru Genc, mayor of the Sariyer district the place the attack passed off, informed the Birgun every day newspaper that the gunmen fled when their weapon jammed after having fired two rounds. Genc additionally famous that among the many attendees was Polish Consul General Witold Lesniak and his household, who had been all unhurt in the attack.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan known as Lesniak and Santa Maria’s priest, Rev. Anton Bulai, to supply his condolences. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu provided his condolences and help for non secular minorities in town, which like Turkey as a entire is primarily Muslim.
“There are no minorities in this city or this country. We are all actual citizens,” he informed reporters.
Pope Francis famous the attack in remarks to the general public at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City on Sunday.
“I express my closeness to the community of (the church) in Istanbul, which during the Mass suffered an armed attack with one dead and some wounded,” the pontiff mentioned.
The church is run by an Italian order of Franciscan friars. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani mentioned that his ministry was following the scenario together with the Italian Embassy in Turkey’s capital, Ankara, and the consulate in Istanbul.
“I express my condolence and firm condemnation for the vile attack on Santa Maria Church,″ Tajani tweeted. He added that “I am certain that the Turkish authorities will arrest those responsible.”
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A earlier model of this story was corrected to point out that the title of the church is the Santa Maria Church, not the Santa Maria Draperis Church.
