COLOMBO, April 19 — A gunman opened fire at a church in Sri Lanka, police reported on Saturday, as the country remains on high alert, marking six years since the Easter Sunday bombings that killed hundreds.
COLOMBO, April 19 — A gunman opened fire at a church in Sri Lanka, police reported on Saturday, as the country remains on high alert, marking six years since the Easter Sunday bombings that killed hundreds.
The incident took place on Friday at a church in Manampitiya, located 160 kilometers (100 miles) northeast of Colombo, according to a police statement.
The shooting damaged windows, but no one was injured. Authorities have arrested a suspect in connection with the attack.
“Preliminary investigations indicate that the suspect targeted the church due to a personal conflict with the pastor,” the statement added.
In light of the upcoming Easter celebrations, armed police and military personnel have been stationed at churches across the nation, with security measures heightened following the 2019 bombings.
In 2019, suicide bombers killed 279 people, including 45 foreigners, at three churches and three hotels. More than 500 others were injured in the coordinated attacks, which authorities attributed to a local Islamist group.
To honor the victims, the Catholic Church will mark the anniversary on Monday by declaring them “Heroes of the Faith.”
Sri Lanka’s Catholic minority continues to seek justice for the attack, claiming that previous investigations have left key questions unanswered. The Church has accused successive governments of shielding those responsible, and several high-level probes have suggested links between military intelligence units and the bombers. — AFP
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