At least seven people were killed and 34 others injured when gunmen attacked a church in the Hmoudi area of Jordan’s Karak Governorate. The attack took place on Friday during a funeral ceremony. Local officials confirmed the incident, while the perpetrators have yet to be apprehended.
According to the authorities, the attackers arrived in a vehicle, entered the church and opened fire on those present. After the shooting, they fled. So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
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Jordan’s Interior Minister, Mazen al-Faraya, said efforts were under way to arrest the perpetrators, whom he described as a “group of extremists.” He called the incident “painful and horrific,” as well as unprecedented in the history of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
The death toll was initially reported as seven. Later, a government spokesperson announced that it had fallen to six, but the figure of seven fatalities was confirmed again.
Security camera footage verified by the BBC appears to show three armed men approaching from the road. Two of them walk toward a gate to the compound, retreat briefly and then return together with the third man. All three are seen carrying firearms.
Inside the church, panic broke out: people sought to hide under benches or escape through windows. As they tried to flee, screams and prayers could be heard inside the building.
Khalid al-Mdanat, who was in the church when the attack took place, told BBC Arabic that everything lasted about 15 minutes. People tried to leave while the shooting continued.
“Some were hiding, some were carrying the dead in their arms, others were embracing their sons, while others were taking their children and fleeing,” he said.
According to al-Mdanat, the attackers fled in a pickup truck and continued firing as they left.
Another witness said the situation was catastrophic. At first, he thought an electrical fault had occurred, but then he saw wounded people lying on the ground.
A woman who was present in the church said the shooting began a few seconds after a prayer. She described the screams and chaos that followed, adding that when she went outside, she saw bodies lying in the courtyard.
King Abdullah II condemned the attack and said those responsible would receive the harshest punishment. He said the authorities would respond decisively to the terrorist act that struck Karak Governorate.
Following the incident, security measures were increased at the hospital where the wounded were being treated. Tension prevailed outside, while relatives of the victims and the injured expressed grief and anger. Some citizens raised concerns about how the authorities respond to extremist threats.
Abdullah II visited the wounded. Meanwhile, checks and security measures were strengthened in the area surrounding the hospital.
Karak is located south of the capital, Amman, and has a sizable Christian community. Such attacks are rare in Jordan, although the country has experienced serious episodes of violence in the past.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun condemned the attack, describing it as a heinous terrorist act. According to Lebanese media, he said the attack violated the sanctity of the funeral ceremony and ran counter to religious and human values.
Investigations to identify and arrest those responsible are continuing. Jordan is mourning after the attack in which seven people were killed and dozens more injured.
