Gunmen stormed a Greek Orthodox church in Jordan during a funeral on Friday, October 23, 2026, killing at least six people and wounding 28 others in one of the deadliest attacks on the country's Christian minority in years. Jordan's King Abdullah II condemned the shooting as a "terrorist act" and vowed to respond "with an iron fist" as security forces hunted the attackers.
Five minutes of gunfire on mourners
The attack struck the compound of St. George's Greek Orthodox Church in Hammoud, a predominantly Christian town in the Karak governorate roughly 180 kilometers south of Amman, while 150 to 200 people gathered for a funeral. According to Jordan's Public Security Directorate, two to three gunmen arrived by vehicle, got out, and opened fire on mourners for about five minutes before fleeing the scene. Witnesses told state broadcaster Al-Mamlaka that the attackers fired continuously; security camera footage circulating on social media showed three armed men approaching the church, at least one carrying a rifle.
Eyewitness Tamer Halasa told Al-Mamlaka that the shooting began as people stood outside the church. "We were more than 150 people inside and outside the church," he said. Most of the victims were between 50 and 70 years old, and a member of the Halasah family in Karak said three doctors were among those killed.
A manhunt and a shaken kingdom
Jordanian security forces were pursuing the suspects, and the Public Security Directorate said the investigation was proceeding rapidly. The motive was not established, and no group had claimed responsibility. Government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani confirmed the casualty figures and said an official statement would follow once details were verified. Earlier state television reports had put the death toll at seven before the agency revised it to six, some victims critically wounded.
King Abdullah II said the attack would be met with "the harshest retaliation" and warned that no one could divide Jordanians. "Every Jordanian life is precious, and we will strike with an iron fist against those who dare to threaten our nation," the king said. Prime Minister Jaafar Hassan chaired a meeting of Jordan's security council in Karak to coordinate the response. Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun, the only Christian head of state in the Arab world, condemned the shooting as a "heinous terrorist attack" that "aims to strike at coexistence."
Why this attack matters
Sectarian attacks are rare in Jordan, where Christians make up roughly 2% of the Muslim-majority population. Karak has seen violence before — in 2016, gunmen ambushed police in a series of attacks including at a Crusader castle popular with tourists, killing ten people — but an assault on a church during a funeral is an escalation that cuts at the kingdom's carefully guarded reputation for stability and tolerance. With the killers still at large and 28 wounded under care, Jordan's unity is being tested in public.
Watch: CNN-News18 live report — "Jordan Church Shooting: Gunmen Storm Funeral at Karak Church", with early details from Al-Mamlaka's coverage of the attack and the security response.
Music in this post's reel: Kevin MacLeod - Hitman (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0
Sources: CNN, Arab News, The National, Al Arabiya.