Lyon, France, November 9, 2020
Photo: wikifoxnews.com
A suspect has admitted to shooting Fr. Nikolaos Kakavelakis of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation in Lyon, France, late last month, and has been taken into custody.
According to a statement from the prosecutor’s office, the 40-year-old Georgian man “turns out to be the husband of a woman who was having an affair with the victim,” reports South China Morning Post with reference to the French outlet Le Parisien.
The suspect was arrested at his home in Lyon on Friday after Fr. Nikolaos emerged from a coma on Wednesday and told police who shot him. The gunman’s wife was also taken into custody, reports Greek City Times.
Fr. Nikolaos was shot twice while locking up at his church on Saturday, October 31. It was initially suspected that the attack on the priest was another of the several recent terrorist attacks, though French police were investigating the crime more as a personal confrontation. A local homeless man was initially detained, though later released.
The French Metropolis of the Patriarchate of Constantinople has clarified that Fr. Nikolaos had recently finished his time as rector at the Church of the Annunciation and was set to move back to Greece soon.
Meanwhile, Fr. Nikolaos is in poor condition and will have to undergo another surgery, according to the priest of the church in the nearby city of Grenoble, reports Romfea.
