Gunmen Kill Seven and Wound 40 at Jordan Church Funeral

A Greek Orthodox church in Karak, Jordan, hosted a funeral when violence erupted on Friday. Three men entered the building and opened fire, killing seven people and injuring 40 others. The town sits approximately 90 kilometers south of the capital, Amman.

Footage from Jordanian state television shows two men walking toward the church with pistols in hand. They fire shots before a third man, carrying a semiautomatic rifle, steps forward to shoot as well. The three attackers then run into the church. Witness videos capture shattered glass and blood pooling on the floor inside the sanctuary.

Dorgham Halasa, a mourner inside the church, described the chaos. He said heavy gunfire began about 15 minutes after the service started, causing attendees to flee. Halasa did not see the shooters himself but reported that others spotted four individuals. Security services have not confirmed the exact number of assailants, referring to them as unknown. The government stated that investigations are proceeding at full speed but has not announced if any suspects were captured or killed.

Health Minister Ibrahim al-Budour reported that two of the wounded are in critical condition. Jordan declared three days of national mourning following the attack. King Abdullah II posted on X that the nation will confront the terrorist act with the harshest penalties. He offered condolences to the families of the victims and wished for the recovery of the injured.

Prime Minister Jafar Hassan addressed a security meeting in Karak on Friday evening. He attributed the attack to terrorist ideology and blind extremism. Hassan stated that legal measures would be taken against those who seek to introduce extremism into the country.

Karak has a small Christian population and experienced deadly violence in 2016. During that year, gunmen ambushed police in a series of attacks that included a Crusader castle. Ten people died in the 2016 incident, seven of them officers. Security forces ended that standoff by killing the attackers.

Regional leaders reacted quickly to the news. The grand imam of Al-Azhar in Cairo called the shooting a heinous terrorist attack. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein phoned his Jordanian counterpart to express solidarity. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the attack as especially heinous because it occurred during a funeral. His spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said Guterres called for all responsible parties to be found and held to account.