Jos, Nigeria, Apr 26, 2018 / 02:16 am
At least 19 people, including two priests, were killed on Tuesday when nomadic cattle farmers in central Nigeria opened fire at morning Mass in a Catholic parish.
Reports indicated that Fulani herdsmen attacked Saint Ignatius Church in Ayar-Mbalom, a town within Nigeria's Benue State, on April 24. According to officials, the herdsmen killed 17 worshipers and two priests: Father Joseph Gor and Father Felix Tyolaha.
After the attack on the church, the herdsmen proceeded to shoot residents in the area and set fire to around 50 homes, according to survivor Peter Iorver, whose stepmother had been a victim.
"The herdsmen came and opened fire on the church while morning mass was going on," Iorver told New Telegraph, a local newspaper. "After they attacked and killed those in the church, they left and started shooting sporadically, killing residents around the area."