Eight dead, 40 hurt as gunmen open fire on a Jordanian funeral
Forty people were injured in the shooting at St George's Greek Orthodox church in Karak governorate. Jordanian officials called it terrorism, and security has been increased across the country as the search for the attackers continues.
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Oct 24, 12:00 UTC ·
678 words
Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in Jordan, killing eight people and injuring 40 in an attack authorities described as terrorism. [1]
The shooting took place on October 23 at St George's church in Hamoud, in Karak governorate, an area with a sizeable Christian community. The latest casualty figures, reported on October 24, put the number killed or injured at 48. [1][2]
Security was increased at shopping malls, foreign embassies and other locations across Jordan, according to the US embassy in Amman. The response extended well beyond the church where mourners had gathered, making the attack a national security concern as well as a disaster for the community it struck. [1]
The attackers' identities, motive and any organisational links have not been established. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Interior Minister Mazin Al Farrayeh described the perpetrators as extremists but said it was too early to determine whether they had connections to known groups inside or outside Jordan. [1]
Prime Minister Jafar Hassan said the attack resulted from "a terrorist ideology and blind extremism". King Abdullah said those responsible would face the harshest retaliation. Those statements set out the government's assessment and promised response, while investigators work to establish who carried out the shooting. [1]
Gunfire at a funeral
Witnesses described a gathering of dozens of people interrupted by sustained shooting. Khaled Burqan told Jordanian broadcaster Al-Mamlaka that the gunmen fired for several minutes. Another witness, Ihab Ammareen, said he saw bloodied people collapse. [1]
People sought shelter beneath pews and fled the church, according to witnesses interviewed by the BBC. Their accounts described people holding children and carrying or holding those who had been injured or killed. One witness told the BBC the attack lasted about 15 minutes. [2]
Security-camera footage broadcast by Jordanian state television appeared to show three people firing from outside the church. They took cover behind trees and a low wall before running towards the entrance. Reuters verified the setting and other details of the footage, according to the Guardian. [1]
The toll increased as information emerged. The BBC's October 23 account gave seven deaths and at least 34 injuries.
By the following day, the figures were eight dead and 40 injured. These remain the latest reported totals for a developing attack. [1][2]
A minority community struck
Christians are a minority in Muslim-majority Jordan, and Karak is home to a sizeable Christian community. [1][2]
A funeral brings people together around a shared loss. Attacking that gathering reaches beyond those physically hurt, threatening the sense that a church can offer shelter during grief. That is the immediate challenge for Jordan's religious minorities: being able to gather without fear.
The location also demands care in describing the crime. The established fact is that gunmen attacked a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church. The government's description of terrorism does not by itself establish a specific religious motive or identify an organisation behind it. [1][2]
Jordan's interior minister called the shooting "painful and horrific" and "unparalleled in the history of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan", according to the BBC. [2]
The practical question for the government, as security increases at public and diplomatic sites, is how to protect communal life while the investigation proceeds. A church is both a building that can be guarded and a gathering place whose purpose depends on people feeling able to enter.
A wider security response
The increased security at malls, embassies and other sites shows that authorities were taking precautions across different kinds of public and diplomatic locations. The US embassy's account did not describe a response confined to Christian institutions or to Karak. [1]
UN Secretary General António Guterres condemned the violence and said attacks against civilians and places of worship were unacceptable. His response placed both the people attending the funeral and the church itself at the centre of the condemnation. [1]
The next test for Jordan's authorities is to turn their forceful public response into an account of the attack supported by evidence. The head of the Public Security Directorate said the hunt for the attackers was continuing. [1]
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