Terrifying moment masked gunmen storm Istanbul church during Sunday Mass before opening fire in attack which left one dead - as Turkish authorities hunt suspects

This is the terrifying moment masked gunmen storm a church in Istanbul during Sunday Mass before opening fire in an attack that left one dead. 

Security footage ahead of the attack showed a pair of men wearing black snow masks with their hands in their pockets and one was seen wearing black sunglasses. 

They entered the Santa Maria church in the Sariyer district of Istanbul and fired shots at around 11.40am (8.40am UK time), killing an individual identified only as C.T., a 52-year-old Turkish citizen, who was among those attending Sunday's service.

Ali Yerlikaya, Turkey's interior minister, condemned the 'vile attack' on social media.

Turkish officials said it looked like a targeted attack by the two gunmen, both of whom fled the scene, against C.T., who is understood to have been shot in the head, rather than against the Catholic church. 

Counter-terrorism police have since arrested one man in connection with the attack, without providing further details.

But C.T.'s nephew, who identified his body, told the Associated Press that the target was the church, as his uncle had 'no connection to politics or (criminal) organizations.' 

He added that his uncle had been invited to attend the church 'and was a victim of fate.'

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was recorded by his director of communications telling the church's priest, Anton Bulai: 'We will find the perpetrators sooner or later, maybe within 24 hours.'

Local officials said around 40 people attended the mass, and suggested that there could have been more casualties at the church. run by missionary Franciscan friars from Italy as part of an ongoing mission of ecumenical dialogue.

'After the second shot, the gun didn't work, then they [attackers] ran. At this moment, everyone lied on the floor. There were around 35 to 40 people inside,' Sariyer district's mayor Sukru Genc told reporters. 

Television images showed police and an ambulance outside the ornate Italian church. 

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was in the central Anatolian province of Eskisehir for his party's rally ahead of March local elections, expressed condolences during a phone call with the priest of the Italian church and other local officials.

He assured that 'necessary steps are being taken to catch the perpetrators as soon as possible', according to his office.

Pope Francis expressed his support for the Catholic church after the attack.

'I express my closeness to the community of the Santa Maria' church in Istanbul, the Argentinian pope said at the end of his weekly Angelus prayer in St Peter's Square at the Vatican.

Istanbul governor Davut Gul told reporters at the scene that there were no further injuries. 

The motive for the attack was also not immediately clear.

Eyewitnesses said that panicked church goers threw themselves to the ground during the attack, after which the assailants fled the scene on foot, according to local newspaper Gazeta Duvar.

Several police officers were dispatched to the church following the attack and set up secure areas around the church.

see read more  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13016297/Terrifying-moment-masked-gunmen-storm-Istanbul-church-Sunday-Mass.html

https://www.barrons.com/news/one-dead-after-armed-assault-on-catholic-church-in-istanbul-02a75201

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