Metro News
Bloody Pentecost Sunday: How gunmen disguised as worshippers, kill over 35 people inside church- Survivors
No fewer than a total 35 corpses were brought in dead to the Federal Medical Centre and Saint Louis Hospital, both in Owo, following the terrorists’ attack on the church on Sunday, according to sources.
But the state police command said that it was still compiling the casualty figure. Also, the church and the state government did not specify the casualty figure.
Recall that both Reuters and Voice of America reported on Sunday that over 50 people were killed in the attack.
However, a resident of the area, who identified himself as Olabamiji, said the attack was carried out by gunmen who disguised as worshippers before entering the church’s premises.
According to him, immediately they entered the church premises, they threw an IED before shooting the congregants.
He said, “We saw them. They didn’t cover their faces. Initially, we thought that they were going into the church for the service, not knowing that they were gunmen. Suddenly, we heard gunshots. They directed the gun at everyone, particularly women and children.
“While the attack lasted, we did not see any security operative to confront the gunmen. We could not even count their number because everybody had to run for safety.”
One of the survivors, who identified herself as Mary Williams, said she narrowly escaped the attack.
Williams said she attended the service but was outside when the attackers arrived and started shooting sporadically, killing many worshippers.
“The mass ended and I got out to be going home. I was beside the fence of the church when suddenly I heard those sporadic gunshots. Initially, I thought they were armed robbers trying to rob somebody but I later discovered that the heavy sounds of gunshots were inside the church.
“I jumped into a gutter where I hid. It was like we were on a war front the way the gunmen were shooting for about 15minutes. My legs were injured and I was taken to the hospital and discharged.”
The officiating priest at the church, Reverend Father Andrew Abayomi, said the attackers stormed the church when the mass was almost ended.
Abayomi said, “We were about to round off the service. I had even asked people to start leaving when we started hearing gunshots from different angles.
“We hid inside the church, but some people had left when the attack happened. We locked ourselves in the church for 20 minutes. When we heard that they had left, we opened the church and rushed victims to hospitals.”
A health worker on duty at the FMC, Owo, said over 50 people were brought to the hospital, adding that some were dead already while some were still alive.
He said, “They are still bringing people to the hospital; some have been confirmed dead, while some are still breathing.”
A nurse at St. Louis Hospital, Owo, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said many casualties were brought to the hospital.
She said, “A lot of casualties have been brought here, but I can count 12 now that have died. We are still trying to save the lives of the remaining.”
At the FMC Owo, many people were seen crying as they did not know the fate of their relatives who were receiving treatment at the Emergency Department of the hospital.
A doctor at the FMC, on condition of anonymity, said 23 people were brought in dead, adding that 28 people were injured.
He said, “ As at the last count, 23 dead bodies were brought in while 28 sustained various degrees of injuries. Some with light injuries were treated and discharged immediately. That is the situation for now.”
At the St. Louis Catholic Hospital, scores of relatives were seen discussing the incident while some were weeping.
The teenage boy killed in the Hainault sword attack in north-east London has been identified as 14-year-old Daniel Anjorin.
Police said Anjorin died from stab wounds shortly after being taken to hospital on Tuesday.
He was the only casualty in the attack that left four other people, including two police officers, injured.
The suspect, 36, was cornered and overpowered with a Taser by officers in Thurlow Gardens.
Police were called to reports of a car crashing into a house and people being stabbed in Hainault, north-east London.
James Fernando, a witness, told the BBC that he saw the suspect asked one of his neighbours to take his phone and “tell whoever was on the phone his location”.
Fernando said the neighbour soon noticed the sword and started running.
“As she fled, the woman shouted to another neighbour, a boy on his way to school, who was then struck by the attacker as he turned around,” he said.
Anjorin attended Bancroft’s, the same school where Grace O’Malley-Kumar, a stabbing victim in Nottingham, was also a student.
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