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Medan congregants speak of attack on church, priest
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Investigation: Personnel from North Sumatra Police examine evidence at St. Yosep Catholic Church in Medan on Sunday, after a foiled bombing and murder attempt during Mass. (JP/Apriadi Gunawan)
V
ero, a member of the congregation of St. Yosep Catholic Church in Medan, North Sumatra, was in shock after realizing the man sitting right next to her was attempting to bomb her church during Mass on Sunday.
She said she had been suspicious of him from the start because he was uneasy during the Mass. He also seemed not know what to do during the service.
“He was fidgety the whole time. He also could not follow our ritual,” Vero told The Jakarta Post after the bombing and attempted murder of the priest at the church.
When Father Albertus Pandiangan began his sermon, Vero said, the suspect took out some cables and connected them to something she suspected was the detonator. It caused a small explosion, she said.
“Because of the weakness of the explosion, he was caught, so he got up and went to the altar, going after the priest while wielding sharp weapons,” Vero said.
Randa, another churchgoer, said when the explosion happened, many of the congregation ran outside the church in panic, but some stayed inside to protect the priest from the attacker. “They managed to catch him,” he said.
The suspect slashed priest Albertus’ left arm with a knife.
Randa said that when some people tried to apprehend the suspect, two unidentified people ran from the church. “We never saw them,” Randa said. (evi)
