Another attack on priest in France reported

It is the second attack this week at a French religious building

Police officers and rescue workers block the access to the scene after a Greek Orthodox priest was shot Saturday Oct.31, 2020 while he was closing his church in the city of Lyon, central France. The priest, a Greek citizen, is in a local hospital with life-threatening injuries after being hit in the abdomen, a police official told The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Witnesses said the church was Greek Orthodox. AP

Oct 31, 2020

A Greek orthodox priest in the French city of Lyon was shot and injured by an assailant who fled the scene, a police source said on Saturday.

The priest, who was fired on twice at about 4pm local time as he was closing the church, was treated at the scene for life-threatening injuries, the source said.
It is the second attack on a French religious site this week after three people were killed in Nice.

The victim is understood to be a Greek national, and witnesses said the attack site was a Greek Orthodox church.

🔴 #ALERTE | Un événement est en cours à proximité du secteur Jean-Macé, dans le 7ème arrondissement à #Lyon.
Les forces de sécurité et de secours sont sur place. Un périmètre de sécurité a été installé.
⚠️ Évitez le secteur et suivez les consignes des autorités. pic.twitter.com/ZZxeTADcAF
— Ministère de l'Intérieur - Alerte (@Beauvau_Alerte) October 31, 2020

Police cordoned off the area and are hunting for the attacker, who was alone and fired from a hunting rifle.

Government ministers said that other attacks could take place. President Emmanuel Macron has deployed thousands of soldiers to protect sites such as places of worship and schools.

The attacks followed the killing of a Paris-area teacher who showed students cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed as part of a lesson on free speech.