2016 Normandy church attack
| 2016 Normandy church attack | |
|---|---|
| Part of Terrorism in France & Islamic terrorism in Europe | |
St-Étienne church, where the attack took place
|
|
| Location |
Church of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray Normandy, France |
| Coordinates | 49°22′58″N 1°06′24″E / 49.382753°N 1.106722°E |
| Date | 26 July 2016 09:43 CEST (UTC+2) |
| Target | Christians |
|
Attack type
|
knife attack, hostage-taking |
| Weapons | Knives |
| Deaths | 3 (including both perpetrators) |
|
Non-fatal injuries
|
1 |
| Perpetrator | Adel Kermiche Abdel Malik Petitjean |
Coordinates: 49°22′49″N 1°06′30″E / 49.380305°N 1.108209°E
On 26 July 2016, two Islamist terrorists attacked participants in a Mass at a Catholic church in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, Normandy, northern France. Wielding knives and wearing fake explosive belts, the men took six people captive and later killed one of them, 85-year-old priest Jacques Hamel, by slitting his throat, and also critically wounded an 86-year-old man. The terrorists were shot dead by BRI police as they tried to leave the church.
The attackers, 19-year-olds Adel Kermiche and Abdel Malik Petitjean, had pledged allegiance to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which claimed responsibility for the attack.
At about 9:45 am on 26 July 2016, two men wielding knives and a handgun entered the 16th-century church of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray as Mass was being held. Hamel, three nuns, and two parishioners were taken hostage and ordered to sit together in a group. One attacker wore a fake explosive belt and the other wore a backpack made to look like it carried a bomb. The handgun was later described as an "old, non-functioning pistol".
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Wikipedia