Johannesburg, South Africa, Oct 11, 2016 / 14:27 pm
A Jesuit priest was shot in the face with rubber bullets by police in Johannesburg while trying to protect student protestors in a violent clash with authorities on Monday.
South African students have been protesting in recent weeks after the government proposed increasing university tuition by eight percent in 2017. They are now demanding free education.
Father Graham Pugin, a priest at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in the Braamfonein neighborhood near the University of the Witwatersrand, was trying to block police Oct. 10 from entering the church, where some students had taken refuge. Reportedly, his hands were up when he was shot at close range by police with rubber bullets.
Though there has not been an official report on his condition, a video shows Fr. Pugin, his mouth bloodied and dripping on his alb, walking with other students to receive care.