2020 Lyon shooting

On 31 October 2020, a Greek Orthodox priest was shot and critically wounded in Lyon, France. A sawn-off shotgun was used to shoot him twice, seriously injuring him, as he was closing his church at around 4:00 pm. The victim, priest Nikolaos Kakavelakis, a Greek citizen, is being treated for life-threatening injuries.[1]

2020 Lyon shooting
LocationLyon, France
Date31 October 2020 (2020-10-31)
Attack type
Shooting
Deaths0
Injured1

Background

The Greek Orthodox priest, identified as Nikolaos Kakavelakis, a 52-year-old Greek citizen, had a long-running legal dispute with a former monk who had been convicted of defamation. Kakavelakis had tendered his resignation a month prior for "family reasons" and had set out in search of "another mission abroad".[2] The head of the Greek Orthodox Church in France, Emmanuel Adamakis, told reporters at a French radio station Europe 1 that Kakavelakis had been asked to return to Greece and was no longer conducting services.[3]

A week prior to the shooting, Father Kakavelakis was jogging on the banks of the Rhône where reportedly five men of North African descent surrounded him, made fun of him, beat him and stole his cross.[4]

Incident

Kakavelakis was closing the church in the 7th arrondissement of Lyon during the mid-afternoon of 31 October 2020 when he was shot twice in the stomach at point-blank range.[5] The attack is believed to have taken place in a small courtyard near the back of the church, where the official church apartment is located.[3]

The suspect then fled the scene, according to police sources.[6] A homeless man was arrested later the same day in connection with the shooting at a kebab shop in the city. No weapon was found on him. The prosecutor's office announced on the day after the attack that the man had been released from police custody and involuntarily institutionalized, and that there was no evidence linking him to the attack.[7][8] Authorities have not yet treated the shooting as an act of terrorism.[9]

Investigation

An unnamed source claimed the incident stemmed from a personal dispute instead of being an act of terror.[10] The man who was arrested at a kebab shop shortly after the shooting was released on 1 November, officers removed police cordons in the vicinity of the church, and the search area was broadened to a wider area of the city.[3]

On 7 November, it was announced that a 40-year-old Georgian national had been arrested at his home in Lyon, and told investigators that the Kakavelakis was having an affair with his wife, a 35-year-old Russian.[11]

Reactions

A priest at a separate Greek Orthodox church in Lyon told reporters that the city's Greek Orthodox community had not received any threats, but he had reached out for security protection from the police for his church after the shooting.[3]

References
  1. Samuel, Henry (31 October 2020). "Orthodox priest in 'critical condition' after shooting in Lyon, France". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  2. "Un homme en garde à vue a reconnu avoir tiré sur le prêtre orthodoxe de Lyon". Le Figaro. 7 November 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  3. "France: Suspect in priest's shooting freed, search widens". WLOX News. 1 November 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020 – via Associated Press.
  4. "Shot priest in Lyon was beaten and had his cross stolen last week by North Africans". Greek City Times. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  5. "Greek Orthodox priest shot outside church in France's Lyon". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  6. "Lyon attack: Orthodox priest wounded in shooting". BBC News. 31 October 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  7. "Prêtre blessé par balles à Lyon : Le suspect interpellé samedi hospitalisé sous contrainte, sa garde à vue levée" (in French). 20minutes.fr. 1 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  8. "Le suspect dans l'agression du prêtre a été relâché" (in French). lematin.ch. 1 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  9. Henley, Jon (31 October 2020). "Lyon: man arrested after priest shot at church". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  10. Wojazer, Barbara (1 November 2020). "Investigators consider 'personal dispute' in shooting of Greek Orthodox priest with sawed-off shotgun". CNN. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  11. "Lyon shooting: Suspect admits attacking priest 'over affair'". BBC News. 7 November 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2020.


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