Jordan says 7 killed in church shooting during Karak funeral

The latest:

Seven people were killed and 34 wounded when gunmen opened fire inside a church in Jordan’s Karak governorate during a funeral service on Friday, the Public Security Directorate said. Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya said a group of extremists carried out the attack. Public Security Director Obaidallah al-Maaytah said the search for the perpetrators was still under way.

Details:

• The attack: Jordanian state media reported that two gunmen stepped out of a vehicle and fired continuously for about 5 minutes inside the church before fleeing. One used an automatic weapon and the other a pistol. Security forces were pursuing both men. Authorities did not say how many people were inside the church at the time.
• The casualty figures: The Public Security Directorate put the toll at 7 dead and 34 wounded. Earlier accounts circulating as the incident unfolded gave lower ranges, between 6 and 7 killed and 10 to 28 wounded. The directorate did not break down the casualties by age or identify the victims.
• The investigation: The directorate said investigations were proceeding at full speed and that results would be announced as they emerge, according to the state news agency Petra. It said security services were continuing to track down everyone involved in the incident.
• The publication ban: Al-Mamlaka television reported that Amman’s prosecutor general, Hassan al-Abdallat, ordered a ban on publication in the case under Article 39 of the press and publications law and Article 225 of the penal code. The decision carries legal and judicial liability for violators.
• The scope: The ban obliges all visual, audio and print outlets, as well as social media, to refrain from publishing news about the case, the course of the investigation, or anything affecting justice. It also covers circulating the ban itself, and exempts only official media supervised by the Government Communication Ministry.
• The government response: Government Communication Minister Mohammad al-Momani said on X that Prime Minister Jafar Hassan was chairing a National Security Council meeting at the Karak governorate building on Friday, attended by all relevant ministers and officials, to follow the work of the agencies handling what he called a heinous terrorist crime.
• The briefing: Momani announced that Faraya and Maaytah would hold a press conference in Karak at around 5:30 p.m. Amman time, according to Petra. Momani said security services were following the shooting on the ground and would issue statements once information was verified.
• The medical track: Momani said Health Minister Ibrahim al-Badour had begun a field tour in Karak to visit those wounded in the attack. He urged the public to give security services room to take the required measures and to draw information only from official sources.
• The warning: The Public Security Directorate warned against circulating any information about the shooting at the funeral in Karak, calling on the public to stick to the official statements issued as they come.

Between the lines:

The publication ban and the directorate’s warning against circulating information both point to an investigation authorities consider live, with suspects still at large. By exempting only state media, officials have made the government the single channel for case details, while the National Security Council meeting in Karak itself, rather than Amman, signals the response is being run from the scene.

What’s next

Watch the Karak press conference by the interior minister and public security director, the results of the National Security Council meeting, and any official announcement on the arrest of the two gunmen or a revised casualty toll.

Sources: