By JOSEPH WILSON
Associated Press
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — One person was killed and another severely injured in an attack by a person with a bladed weapon at a church in the southern city of Algeciras on Wednesday, Spain’s interior ministry said, in what authorities are investigating as a possible act of terrorism.
The attacker was arrested and is in the custody of Spain’s National Police. The ministry did not identify the suspect.
The ministry said that the attack started inside the church of San Isidro, where the one person was seriously injured. The attacker then killed the sexton outside the church, the ministry said.
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 over the attack.
Police are investigating the incident, the interior ministry said, to determine the “nature of the attack.” It offered no further detail on the weapon that was used or 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. It is home to an important port.
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