By JOSEPH WILSON
Associated Press
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A machete-wielding man killed a sexton and injured a priest in attacks at two churches in the city of Algeciras Wednesday before being arrested, Spain’s interior ministry said, in what authorities are investigating as a possible act of terrorism.
The suspect was arrested in the southern city and is in the custody of Spain’s National Police. The ministry did not identify him.
The attack started around 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday when the armed man went into the San Isidro church and assaulted a priest, who was seriously injured, the ministry said.
The assailant then went to a second church, the Nuestra Señora de La Palma — a five-minute-walk away — where he entered and continued his rampage, assaulting the sexton. The sexton, whose job it is to take care of the church and its maintenance. fled outside where the attacker dealt him the mortal wounds in a public square, the ministry said.
The Algeciras town hall said that the sexton was named Diego Valencia and identified the wounded priest as Antonio Rodríguez. The town hall said that he was hospitalized and in stable condition.
Local media reported that at least three other people were injured.
Spain’s National Court said a judge has opened an investigation into a possible act of terrorism.
Police are investigating the incident, the interior ministry said, to determine the “nature of the attack.” It offered no further detail on the attacker’s possible motive.
The secretary general of Spain’s Episcopal Conference, Francisco García, wrote on Twitter that “I have received the news of the incident in Algeciras with great pain.”
“These are sad moments of suffering, we are united by the pain of families of the victims and for the Diocese of Cádiz,” he added.
Algeciras is located near the southern tip of Spain, resting across from a bay from Gibraltar. It is home to an important port with ferry connections to northern Africa.
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