Gunman Attacks Sri Lanka Church Ahead of Easter Bombing Tribute

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April 19, 2025 | 09:01 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A gunman shot at a church in Sri Lanka, said the police on Saturday, April 19, 2025, while the country is on high alert six years after the Easter Sunday bombings that killed hundreds of people.

The gunman opened fire on Friday at a church in Manampitiya, 160 kilometers northeast of the capital, Colombo, according to a police statement.

The shooting damaged windows, and no one was injured. A suspect has been arrested, the police said.

“Initial investigations suggest that the suspect had targeted the church due to a personal enmity with the pastor,” the statement was quoted as saying by Arab News.

Armed police and troops have been deployed to nearly all churches across the country during Easter celebrations, with security heightened following the 2019 attacks.

The suicide bombings in 2019 killed 279 people, including 45 foreigners, at three churches and three hotels in Sri Lanka.

More than 500 people were injured in the attacks, which officials blamed on local Islamist groups. The Catholic Church will commemorate the victims on Monday, declaring them "Heroes of the Faith."

Sri Lanka's Catholic minority has been pushing for justice since the bombings, saying that previous investigations have failed to answer lingering questions.

The Catholic Church has accused the Sri Lankan government of repeatedly shielding those behind the attacks. Several high-level inquiries have identified links between military intelligence units and the bombers.

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