A Catholic priest in Canada has been stabbed live on TV and in front of his congregations at Canada’s biggest church.
Footage broadcast live on a Catholic Television station showed a man dressed and jeans, parka and white baseball cap approach the priest – Claude Grou as parishioners looked on in horror.
The man was seen chasing the priest around the altar, and then standing over him ass the priest falls to the ground and then stabbing him.
A witness, Adele Plamondon said Grou, who escaped with minor injuries was about to read the gospel when the man came in and “drew a knife”
“I’d thought he was just going to kneel in front of the altar to pray, like many people do,” she said.
The suspect remained silent during the assault but appeared “very determined,” Plamondon added.
The assailant was eventually restrained by three men while others tended to Grou, who appeared to be in shock.
The priest has been taken to hospital after sustaining slight wound in the upper body while the church was cordoned off. Services resumed later in the day.
Police did not reveal a motive for the attack, but spokeswoman Caroline Chevrefils said he is “known to police.”
“This was an isolated attack, and there is nothing to link it to terrorism,” she added.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also condemned the “horrible attack”
