Black Sunday: Attacker stab 3 in Birmingham, UK church

One pastor and two members of the worshipers at the New Jerusalem Apostolic Church in Birmingham, England, were on Sunday, severely injured in a stabbing after they were attacked by a man who invaded their church with a knife.


About 150 people were at the Sunday service when the sad incident occurred.

How it happened

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The attacker was said to have been challenged at the entrance of the church by three ushers who later subdued him.

Luckily, No injuries were life threatening.

"He (the attacker) drew out a large kitchen knife and was restrained by a number of members, about three," the pastor, Kevin Hutchinson, told a local newspaper. "Three members were injured and were taken to hospital. The men in the church were able to subdue him until the police and paramedics came."

Statement issued by the church

The church, in a statement on its official Twitter and Facebook pages, said: "Following the incident at New J this morning, we would like to give you the following update.

"Three members of our congregation were injured following a knife attack all of whom have been taken to hospital. The following individuals were injured - Elder Karl George, Adam Brooks and Jorge George. No injuries were life threatening.

"At this time we are restricting hospital visits to family only and we will keep you updated as regularly as possible. We would like to thank all of our members and friends that were with us this morning for your cooperation, bravery and support and thank everyone else for your prayers."

Meanwhile, a 47-year-old man, John Delahaye has been arrested and  charged with attempted murder. The force said Delahaye had also been charged with two counts of possession of a bladed weapon and wounding.

United Kingdom (UK) police believe the incident was an isolated case and not an act of terrorism. It said early indications suggest that the offender and victim knew each other and that this was a targeted attack, just like what happened at Ozubulu.

Read: Black Sunday: Unidentified gunmen kill a dozen in Anambra Catholic Church

Birmingham is a city found in England. It is the Second largest city of the United Kingdom (UK).