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Who is Nikolaos Kakavelakis? Nikolaos Kakavelakis Bio/Wiki
In a shooting in the French city of Lyon, a Greek Orthodox priest was wounded and the gunman escaped, a police source said.
🚨 Une opération de police est en cours rue St-Lazare à #Lyon 7ème avec un périmètre de sécurité actif.
đź”´ Evitez le secteur
đź”´ Ne gĂŞnez pas l’intervention des 👮‍♂️🧑‍🚒
🔴 Suivez les comptes institutionnels @PoliceNat69 @prefetrhone pic.twitter.com/qDGEDaZnWw— Police Nationale 69 (@PoliceNat69) October 31, 2020
The priest was named Nikolaos Kakavelakis by a Greek government official.
Age
He is 59 years old.
Shot In Lyon Full Details
The priest was critically injured, said the police source. The occurrence occurred around 4 p.m. (noon ET), added the source.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex told reporters that there had been a “significant incident” but that “we do not yet have specific elements.” Castex also said that it would trigger a “crisis center.”
Ă€ #Lyon, un prĂŞtre orthodoxe a Ă©tĂ© touchĂ© par balle alors qu’il fermait son Ă©glise, au 45 Rue Père Chevrier#attaque Ă caractère #terroriste ne fait aucun doute pour Moi, dans le contexte actuel, elle porte une Signature #islamiste
Pronostic vital engagé pic.twitter.com/VZrtKM4WBA
— La Fouine #FrançaisReveillezVous 🇫🇷 (@BBR4369) October 31, 2020
It was unclear the reason for the attack. Two days after the knife attack at a Catholic church in the French city of Nice that killed three people, and in the midst of tensions over the publication by a French newspaper of drawings insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
Saturday’s shooting was not being investigated by the French anti-terrorist authorities, although the interior minister activated a special emergency team to monitor the case while the gunman was still at large.
Government commitments were repeated by Prime Minister Jean Castex to deploy military forces at religious sites and schools.
He said that French people are able to “count on the nation to allow them to practice their religion in full safety and freedom”.
Non, mais regardez ce qui se passe à Décines. Des fascistes turcs sèment la terreur dans les quartiers arméniens. La France va très mal.pic.twitter.com/LrPm7QD1L4
— Bahar Kimyongür (@Kimyongur) October 28, 2020
France On High Alert
After the deadly attack in Nice, President Emmanuel Macron declared expanded surveillance by France’s on-the-street military force of the churches, which is to be reinforced by 7,000 out of 3,000 troops.
Je n’accepterai jamais qu’on puisse justifier la violence. Nos libertĂ©s, nos droits, je considère que c’est notre vocation de les protĂ©ger. pic.twitter.com/fP3Hvpkaql
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) October 31, 2020
School protection would also be boosted, he said. During the current lockdown, schools will remain open.
As of Monday, a further 7,000 police force members, half of them reserve soldiers and gendarmes, will provide direct assistance to police chiefs for security missions.
Prime Minister Jean Castex said that a special crisis line would be formed to deal with the repercussions of the attack on Saturday.
In a statement, he said, “I reiterate the government and the Republic’s full determination to allow citizens to practice their religion in a free manner, in a safe environment, “