While closing his church located in Lyon's French city, a Greek Orthodox priest was shot on Saturday, prompting local authorities to lock down a portion of the city to pin down the assailant, according to report.
The victim is a Greek citizen priest who is now under observation l due to the life-threatening injuries, as he was shot twice at the abdomen, according to the police.
An official, who was not authorized to be publicly named, also shared that the attacker was alone and fired from a hunting rifle.
According to Fox News, after the incident, the police cordoned off the largely residential neighborhood that surrounds the church, they also detained a person who resembled descriptions of the gunman, but the individual was unarmed at the time of the arrest, according to the Lyon prosecutor.
Investigators are still trying to determine the identity of the gunman.
When the night fell on the French city, the police taped an area and emergency vehicles throughout the neighborhood.
In the tweet of the National police, they stated that there is an ongoing serious public security incident, and it is underway.
As of the moment, the reason for the shooting is still undetermined and unclear, CNN reported.
The shooting incident happened just two days after an Islamic extremist knife attack in another French city of Nice that killed three individuals at a Catholic church. This is in the middle of the ongoing geopolitical tensions after a mocking caricature about the Muslim Prophet Muhammad was published in a satirical French newspaper.
Read also: "Terrorist" Attack Nice, France; Kills 3, Leaves Several Wounded
The French anti-terrorism officials are following the case; however, they are not investigating the shooting on Saturday.
On the other hand, the interior minister activated a special emergency team to monitor the manhunt, and the prosecutor in Lyon also opened an investigation for attempted murder.
The mayor of the French city, Gregory Doucet shared with the reporters at the scene that no theory is favored and no theory is ruled out, Yahoo! News reported.
He also added he does not know the motive behind the attack at this point.
A pastor at another Greek Orthodox church in Lyon, Antoine Callot, identified the severely wounded priest as the 45-yar-old man Nikolas Kakavekis, a father of two.
Callot shared with the media that the Greek Orthodox community in the French city of Lyon was not able to receive any threats, but despite no risks posted, still, Callot asked the police for immediate security protection at his church after the shooting incident.
He stated that they are anxious and anguished as it is really horrifying for them.
Callot also mentioned that they need to hide and be careful.
According to the prosecutor's statement in Lyon, the local police and numerous residents, the officers, saw an individual who was running away and found the wounded priest at the church's back door.
Jean Castex, the French Prime Minister, repeatedly mentioned that the government would be deployed at religious sites and even in schools.
Related article: World Leaders Condemn Nice Terror Attack, Express Solidarity With France
