ANKARA: Two masked assailants attacked a Roman Catholic church in Istanbul during Sunday services, killing one person, Turkish officials said.
According to a statement posted on X by Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, the armed assailants attacked the Santa Maria Church in the Sariyer district at 11:40 a.m. local time. He did not specify what kind of weapons were used or whether anyone else was wounded.
Yerlikaya condemned the attack and said authorities are working on capturing the assailants. An investigation has been opened.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed condolences over the attack and said “necessary steps” were taken to hunt down killers, his office said.
Erdogan, who spoke on the phone with local officials as well as priest of Italian church, said that “necessary steps are being taken to catch the perpetrators as soon as possible.”
Speaking to reporters, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu offered his condolences and support for religious minorities in the city, which like Turkiye as a whole is primarily Muslim.
“There are no minorities in this city or this country. We are all actual citizens,” he said.
Santa Maria Churchj is run by missionary Franciscan friars from Italy sent on a mission of ecumenical dialogue.
In remarks to the public in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, Pope Francis noted the attack. “I express my closeness to the community of Santa Maria Draperis Church in Istanbul, which during the Mass suffered an armed attack with one dead and some wounded,” the pontiff said.
Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, said his ministry was following the situation along with the Italian embassy in Ankara and the consulate in Istanbul. “I express my condolence and firm condemnation for the vile attack on Santa Maria Church,″ Tajani wrote on X. He added that “I am certain that the Turkish authorities will arrest those responsible.”
