Seven Killed in Gun Attack at Church Funeral in Jordan, Officials Say

According to officials, an attack on a funeral in central Jordan claimed the lives of seven individuals. On Friday, gunmen opened fire on a church in Hmoud, in the Karak governorate, injuring at least 34 more people.

According to reports, the unidentified gunman arrived in a car, went inside the church, started shooting, and then drove off. Nobody has acknowledged carrying out the assault. Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya labelled the offenders as a “gang of fanatics” and stated during a press conference that authorities were attempting to capture them.

Authorities will “confront the terrorist crime that targeted Karak with the toughest penalties,” according to King Abdullah II of Jordan. According to early reports, the incident claimed the lives of seven persons. Six persons had been killed, according to a government spokesperson, but officials later increased the death toll to seven.

Verified CCTV footage seems to show three gunmen moving toward the church from a road. After briefly leaving and returning with a third man, two of the attackers can be seen entering what looks to be a car access to the church grounds. They all seem to be carrying firearms.

Several dead and injured bodies can be seen on the ground amid chaotic scenes in separate footage that is thought to be from the attack’s aftermath. Witnesses have reported seeing panicked scenes inside the church as people moved away from the windows and poured themselves beneath pews in search of shelter.

The facility was filled with shouts and prayers as some people attempted to escape. According to Khalid al-Mdanat, who was present at the church, “people attempted to run while the shooting was still active” during the roughly 15-minute shooting attack.

“People began pushing and throwing themselves to the ground,” he said.

“Some were taking cover, some were cradling the dead, others were holding their sons close, some were grabbing their children and fleeing, while others were holding onto their friends who were with them at the church.”

He said the gunmen left through the church doors and fled in a pickup truck “firing as they went”. Another witness said: “I heard something as if a war had just started. “I thought it was an electrical short circuit. I looked, people lying on the ground, wounded. The scene was catastrophic.”

A woman in the church said explosions rang out seconds after a prayer. “The sound of machine guns started, and the sound of glass. We began to realise that something was happening. “People started screaming. The witness described how the situation “continued to escalate for 10 continuous minutes”. Once she ran out the church she said “bodies were all in the courtyards”.

Residents of the governorate, especially the relatives of those slain and injured, were furious, and there was a strong security presence at the entrance to a hospital caring for those hurt in the Karak event.

Roads surrounding the complex were blocked, forcing visitors to park their cars and proceed on foot. Many were upset. Prior to King Abdullah II’s visit to see how the injured were doing, security measures were also strengthened. As families grieved for their loved ones, the environment surrounding the hospital remained tense due to the sound of sobbing and yelling. A lot of folks seem surprised, scared, and furious. What they called “a refusal to take a harder approach toward terrorism” infuriated some.