The priest injured by the alleged jihadist from Algeciras, to the Police: "Nobody did anything that could bother him"

Before attacking, he argued with a parishioner, telling her that "the Christian faith is negative and must be eliminated."

MADRID, 26 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Antonio Rodríguez Lucena, the Salesian priest who was injured in the attack perpetrated on January 25 in Algeciras (Cádiz) by Yassine Kanjaa, assured the Police that "nobody did anything that could bother him."

This is stated in a report from the General Information Commission dated January 30, which is part of the summary of the case, to which Europa Press has had access, where a reconstruction of the facts is also made.

According to this account, the attack began at 6:30 p.m. when Kanjaa entered the Church of San Isidro, starting a discussion with those present until he came to state "vehemently" that "the only religion that must be followed is the Islamic religion." .

The parish priest explained that "when he was going to the chapel he saw the woman who opens the church arguing heatedly with a man about faith", specifically about the fact that "the Christian faith is negative and must be eliminated". He never intervened and Kanjaa "came out immediately when he saw him."

At 7:00 p.m., he returned to that same church and "from the inside those present listen to how someone located outside shouts in Arabic," the police report completes.

Once the mass is over, he continues, "the priest in charge of the same steps down from the pulpit to check what was happening, at which point the person investigated, carrying a large machete in his hand, suddenly assaulted the priest, causing him serious injuries. great gravity".

Rodríguez Lucena described this scene by indicating that "a man dressed in black entered and went to the altar without saying anything." "It was at the moment when the assailant reached the altar that he brandished the knife", until then the priest did not see the weapon. He waited at the altar so he could "have the aisle clear" and, when he was close, he "tried to run away" but in the middle of the aisle he bumped into someone, fell to the ground and felt a blow.

"There were people who helped him plug the wound and saw that this man left the church and that the parishioners closed the door so that he could not enter," he concluded.

Asked if there could be something that upset Kanjaa, the priest assured the Police that "nobody said anything that could bother him, nor was there any reason for this man to get upset."

For her part, the woman who is in charge of opening the church of San Isidro in Algeciras on a daily basis stated in her witness statement that on January 25 -- around 6:30 p.m. -- she observed how Kanjaa, who was dressed in a kind of "tunic black, Arab in appearance and with a beard", he went to the altar, took the Bible that was there and began to "beat" the holy book on the seats.

According to the other police report of January 29, to which Europa Press has also had access, the woman -after reprimanding him for his attitude- managed to snatch the Bible from him and invited him to leave the temple. The witness assured that the person under investigation left, that around 7:00 p.m. the Mass began "totally normal" and that it was not until 15 minutes later when she, from his office, began to hear "numerous screams."

The woman stated that when she left she could see that "the priest was bloodied on the floor" and that near the door was the young man -- with whom she had had the altercation before -- with "a kind of katana in his hand." .

Another witness, who attended mass that afternoon, also assured that he came to see "a man of Arab origin" enter the temple "shouting and raising a large blue machete." According to the witness, the person under investigation went towards the priest and gave him "several blows" with the machete, "causing him to immediately fall to the ground, where he hit him more."

A third witness, who was inside the church of San Isidro, stated that he came to see how the priest - at the beginning of the mass, when the young man broke into the temple - approached the person under investigation to be able to speak with him. he. As he indicated, it was then that the defendant took out what appeared to be a katana from between his legs.

One of the reports says that, after fleeing from that church, the young man went to the Virgen La Palma church, about 200 meters away. On the way, he ran into another Moroccan man who, "without saying a word," "hit him in the face," breaking his glasses.

This young man declared that he gave him two more blows, one on the shoulder and the other on the chest, after which he told him in Arabic: "You work for the magic", something that, according to the Police, "in Morocco means that It is contrary to the religion that he himself practices".

Then, "the djellaba he was wearing stood up to show him a machete" and the young man, fearing he would be attacked again but with a knife, ran out watching Kanjaa go to the second church.

Once there, the alleged jihadist met its sacristan, Diego Valencia, "who was leaving said church through a back door."

At that moment, the Police pointed out, "Kanjaa began several attacks on him, causing him some initial injuries, although the now-deceased man tries to flee, going to the Plaza Alta", where he is hit by the alleged jihadist, who manages to throw him to the ground. and holding the katana with both hands and "raising his gaze to the sky and shouting a few words in Arabic, among which 'Allah' is heard, he deals a final fatal blow".

According to a witness present in the church of the Virgen de La Palma, the defendant attacked the parish sacristan with a machete, who was trying to protect himself from the attack with a chair and began to shout: "Call the Police."

Later, "and in a very calm way, he goes to the so-called Ermita Europa, located in that same square, and tries to access the interior of it", but then he is detained by the Police, "without offering resistance".

One of the witnesses who works in one of the cafeterias in the Plaza Alta de Algeciras assured that she observed how a group of people ran through the square "terrified and screaming".