During a Pentecost service, gunmen attacked the church. First there were explosions, which were followed by volleys of machine guns from the men. Many of the victims are children and pregnant women.
An eyewitness saw at least five people shooting at the church with weapons. A man who survived the shooting said the men started shooting immediately after entering the church. He was hit in the leg while protecting his children from the bullets.
donate blood
The Nigerian Medical Association has appealed to people to donate blood, because there is not enough due to the many injured. The bishop of the state of Ondo said it was unimaginable what he had seen. “I went straight to church when I heard about the shooting. There were so many bodies and there was so much blood.”
It is not yet clear who is behind the attack.
The Christian southwest of the country is generally safer than the north, where armed militias regularly attack schools and churches, among other things. It concerns jihadist militias, but also gangs that kidnap people for money.