Five people – the priest and reportedly two nuns and two worshippers – were inside the church when the men entered. The Nice attack was the third major attack on France in 18 months and was claimed by Islamic State. A local woman who worshipped at the church described Hamel as “a man who did his job to the end. A witness whose home overlooks the church told BFMTV: “There were more and more police … then a crescendo of gunfire. A priest has been murdered in the Normandy region of northern France after two men armed with knives and claiming to represent the Islamic State terror group took hostages in a church before being shot dead.

Source: The Guardian July 26, 2016 09:01 UTC