world

Attack strikes funeral at St George's church in Hmoud

A Jordanian court sentenced three men to death by hanging for a mass shooting at a Greek Orthodox church funeral that killed nine and wounded 34 people.

jordan, greek orthodox, jordanian, st george, hmoud, church, shooting, sentenced

Key facts

  • A Jordanian court has sentenced three men to death by hanging for a mass shooting at a church funeral last month that killed nine people and wounded 34 others.
  • The attack struck a funeral at St George's Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hmoud, the BBC reported.
  • The convicted men are two Jordanian brothers and their brother-in-law.

A Jordanian court has sentenced three men to death by hanging for a mass shooting at a church funeral last month that killed nine people and wounded 34 others.

The attack struck a funeral at St George's Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hmoud, the BBC reported.

The convicted men are two Jordanian brothers and their brother-in-law.

They fled the scene after the shooting and were arrested three days later.

The three were found inside an abandoned house in Karak governorate, south of the capital, Amman.

CCTV from the day of the attack showed three men holding guns as they approached the church and opened fire.

A second video showed dead and wounded people lying on the ground amid chaotic scenes at the church.

The court ordered death by hanging, the method used to carry out executions in Jordan.

The kingdom previously observed an unofficial ban on executions from 2006 to 2014, and another pause from 2017 until June this year, according to the BBC.

It remains unclear why the attackers chose that church.

Dig deeper

Where is Hmoud?

Hmoud is a village in Jordan's Karak governorate, south of the capital, Amman, where the funeral shooting took place.

What is Karak governorate?

Karak is a governorate in southern Jordan, centred on the historic city of Karak; police found the three men in an abandoned house there three days after the attack.

What is St George's Greek Orthodox church?

It is a Greek Orthodox parish church in Hmoud, and the funeral gathering there was the target of the mass shooting.

Who are Jordan's Greek Orthodox Christians?

They are part of Jordan's small Christian minority, linked to the historic Greek Orthodox church of the region, and this attack hit one of their village funerals.

What does a death sentence by hanging mean in Jordan?

Hanging is the method Jordan uses to carry out executions, and the court ordered that penalty for the two brothers and their brother-in-law.

Lire en français