Normandy siege: two men armed with knives cut priest's throat before being shot dead

Two men armed with knives were today shot dead after murdering a parish priest and holding nuns hostage in a church in northern France.

They rushed into the place of worship at Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, in Normandy, during a morning service, soon after 9am.

A parish priest was killed by the two assailants at the church, said a spokesman for France’s Interior Ministry.

The clergyman, who has not yet been named, had his throat cut with a knife, the spokesman added.

A second of the five hostages was critically wounded.

Normandy hostage situation church
Sky News

Shots were fired by police a few minutes after the assailants entered the church and, according to local police sources, both men have now been killed.

‘They had entered the church by the back entrance, and took five hostages,’ added a local police source.

Those held included the priest, two sisters from a local order, and two parishioners, said the source.

He said that a third nun had escaped and raised the alarm.

Video footage has emerged of emergency services personnel rushing an unidentified person on a stretcher into an ambulance.

French President Francois Hollande and France’s Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve are said to be travelling to Normandy following the seige.

France's anti-terrorist prosecution unit is leading the investigation into the attack.

A security official said the identities of the attackers and motive for the attack are unclear.

Saint-Etienne du Rouvray has a population of 30,000 and is around seven miles from Rouen.

France is currently under a State of Emergency following a succession of terrorist attacks.

It is the latest incident to shock France following the Bastille Day lorry massacre in Nice on July 14 when 84 people were killed and hundreds more were seriously injured.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT