Three gunmen kill seven during funeral in central Jordan

Seven people died and at least 34 others were injured when three unidentified gunmen opened fire at a funeral in Hmoud, a town in the Karak governorate of central Jordan, on Friday. The attackers arrived by car, entered the church, fired their weapons, and then fled. No group has claimed responsibility for the violence.

Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya addressed the public at a news conference, describing the incident as painful, horrific, and unparalleled in the history of the Hashemite Kingdom. He labeled the suspects a group of extremists and stated that authorities were working to arrest them. King Abdullah II also issued a statement, saying the government would confront the terrorist act with the harshest penalties.

Initial reports of the death toll varied, with a government spokesperson initially citing six deaths before officials confirmed the final count of seven. Verified CCTV footage shows the three men approaching the church from a road. Two of them entered what appeared to be a vehicle entrance, retreated briefly, and returned with a third man. All three were carrying handguns. Another clip from the aftermath shows dead and wounded individuals on the ground in a chaotic scene.

Witnesses described a scene of panic inside the sanctuary. People hid under pews and moved away from windows while prayers and screams filled the building. Khalid al-Mdanat, who was present, said the attack lasted about 15 minutes. He noted that people tried to flee while shooting was still active and that the gunmen left through the doors in a pickup truck, firing as they went.

Another witness compared the sound of the gunfire to the start of a war. A woman inside reported that shooting began seconds after a prayer and continued to escalate for ten continuous minutes. Upon exiting the building, she saw bodies scattered across the courtyards.

Security forces established a heavy perimeter around the hospital in Karak treating the wounded, closing nearby roads and forcing people to walk. Tensions rose as families gathered to mourn, with many residents expressing shock and frustration over what they called a failure to take a tougher approach toward terrorists.

Karak hosts a sizeable Christian community in the majority Muslim country. While such violence is rare, deadly attacks have occurred in the past. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, a Christian head of state, condemned the heinous terrorist attack, stating that it violated the sanctity of funeral mourners and contradicted religious and humanitarian values.