Terrorist murders sacristan and wounds priest in rampage through Spanish churches

An Islamist terrorist rampaged through two Catholic churches in southern Spain, murdering a sacristan and wounding a priest with a machete. The attacker first entered the Church of St Isidore of Algeciras and seriously injured Fr Antonio Rodriguez, 74, the parish priest. He then went to the nearby Church of Our Lady of La Palma and began to vandalise the interior. According to witnesses the man yelled “Allah is great” while knocking down crosses, candles, and decorations. He chased Diego Valencia, the sacristan, outside when challenged and told to leave, knocked him to the floor and repeatedly stabbed him in the abdomen. Mr Valencia, 65, a retired florist and father-of-two, was later confirmed dead by police. He wife is being treated in hospital. Police arrested Yasin Kanza, a 25-year-old Moroccan, outside the Chapel of Europe, a third Christian building. Spanish bishops have offered condolences to the families of the dead and wounded and have condemned the attack, which is being treated as terrorism by the authorities. The bishops expressed “closeness and heartfelt sentiments and the consolation of faith to the families of the victims, to the Diocese of Cádiz, and to the people of Gibraltar County.” They said: “We also express our strongest condemnation of all forms of violence, which can have no place in the society in which we live. “As believers, we ask the God of mercy and peace to fill the hearts of the victims with hope and heal the wounded, accompany the Church and society in the search for peace, and to convert the hearts of violent people.” Those who knew Mr Valencia said that he retired with the intention of dedicating his time to the practice of his faith and the service of his parish, with some friends saying he did much to rejuvenate the life of his church. “He fixed the church,” said one resident. Fr Juan José Marina, the parish priest, suggested that he might have been the intended target of the attack. “Instead of me dying, it is he (Valencia) who has died,” he said. Jose Ignacio Landaluce, the Mayor of Algeciras, one of Spain’s southernmost cities, declared a day of mourning. A rally was also held outside the Our Lady of La Palma church and flowers were placed in tribute to the victims. <em>(Getty Images)</em>