The armed attacker, who is said to have killed a churchman and injured four other people in southern Spain, acted with “terrorist intent”, according to the judiciary. This is the conclusion of the responsible investigating judge at the National Court of Justice in Madrid in his first report, the content of which was published on Thursday by the state TV broadcaster RTVE and other media. The man was probably connected to “jihadist Salafism,” according to the report. Before the attack, for example, he shouted: “The only religion one should follow is Islam!”
It had previously become known that, contrary to initial reports, the suspected terrorist was under police surveillance because of radicalization. The Ministry of the Interior in Madrid confirmed corresponding media reports on request. According to the ministry, the 25-year-old Moroccan had been in Spain illegally and should be deported.
The accused will appear before the judge on Monday
Meanwhile, the public prosecutor’s office announced that they wanted to apply to the investigating judge for pre-trial detention without the right to release on bail. This is to be decided on Monday when the accused is presented to the judge for the first time.
The man broke into the church of San Isidro on Wednesday evening shouting “for Allah” and urged people to profess Islam, the newspaper “elDiario.es” reported, citing eyewitnesses. He seriously injured the priest who was present with the machete. Then he ran to a second church nearby, where he attacked the minister and then killed him in front of the La Palma church. Three other people were injured when they opposed the perpetrator. The man tried to break into a third church, but the door was locked. Shortly thereafter, he was arrested by the police.
Algeciras Mayor José Ignacio Landaluce said he was shocked by the incident and ordered a day of mourning in the city of around 120,000 near the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The city’s Muslim community strongly condemned the attack.
