French manhunt under way after shooting of Greek priest
FRANCE - French police interrogated one suspect and searched for others yesterday after a Greek Orthodox priest was shot and critically wounded while closing the doors to his church in the French city of Lyon. Investigators are trying to determine whether a man arrested Saturday night was the gunman behind the attack or has information about it, according to a police official. The priest remains in critical condition after being shot at point-blank range, said the official, who was not authorised to be publicly named according to police policy.
The motive for the shooting remains unclear. Anti-terrorism prosecutors are not investigating the case, and the Lyon prosecutor opened an attempted murder investigation.
The attack came as France is under a high-security alert after the killing of three people at a Nice church on Thursday, amid global tensions over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad published in a French newspaper.
Many Muslims worldwide are also angry at French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments that Islam “is in crisis” and his refusal to condemn the cartoons. Any depiction of the Prophet is forbidden in Islam.
The French prime minister has promised more protection for religious sites.
The shooting also came amid tensions within the Greek Orthodox community in Lyon. The priest, a Greek citizen, had a long-running legal dispute with a former monk who had been convicted of defamation, according to French media reports.
The Greek Orthodox Holy Diocese of France identified the victim as Father Nikolaos Kakavelakis and said he was scheduled to return soon to
Greece after his time working at the Lyon church.
“We pray for a speedy recovery and unequivocally condemn all forms of violence,” it said.
Antoine Callot, the pastor at another Greek Orthodox church in Lyon, told The Associated Press the Greek Orthodox community in Lyon has not received any threats, but said he immediately asked police for security protection at his church after the shooting.
(Al Jazeera)