At least one person has been killed and several others injured in an attack by someone with a stabbing weapon at a church in southern Spain.
A suspect has been arrested following the Cadiz incident, the interior ministry said in a statement.
Spain’s national police told Sky News the person who was killed worked as a sacristan in the church, while a priest is also in serious condition.
The man, described by local media as wielding a machete or a samurai sword, allegedly attacked worshipers in the parish of San Lorenzo in Algeciras – a port city in the southern province of Cádiz.
The ministry said the victim was killed outside the San Isidro church, while the other person was injured inside the church.
“The facts are being investigated and analyzed, but it is not yet possible to determine the nature of the attack,” said the
the ministry said in a statement.
A police spokesman said the incident was under investigation and they could not say what the motivation for the attack was at this stage.
El Mundo newspaper reported that a total of four people were injured in the attack.
Francisco García, Secretary General of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, tweeted: “I received the news of the incident in Algeciras with great pain.
“These are sad moments of suffering, we are united by the pain of the families of the victims and for the diocese of Cadiz.”
The Spanish High Court must investigate the stabbing attacks on the church in Cadiz as terrorism, a judicial source has told Reuters news agency.
