An eyewitness recounts the details of a shooting at a church in Jordan during his cousin's funeral

Amman, Jordan - An eyewitness told Ofoq News in Arabic, on Friday, details of what he observed during the shooting that targeted a church in the Karak Governorate in southern Jordan, killing 7 people, in what the Jordanian authorities described as a "terrorist operation." In testimony to Ofoq News in Arabic, William Halasa recounted the details of the shooting incident that occurred while praying over the body of his cousin inside a church in the village of Hamoud, north of Karak Governorate, before completing the funeral and burial ceremonies.

William Halasa said that the shooting occurred while praying over the body of his cousin inside a church in the village of Hammoud, north of Karak Governorate, before completing the funeral and burial ceremonies. He added that he was inside the church, near the body, while praying over him, when he heard the sounds of gunfire, then he went to a nearby window, where he saw someone carrying a machine gun and shooting.

He continued that the person, after noticing him at the window, pointed his weapon at him and continued shooting. Halasa estimated the number of people inside the church at about 200 people, about 100 in the outside courtyard, and “maybe more.”

He added that the shooting was followed by screaming, panic, and stampeding among those present, especially women, the elderly, and young people. He pointed out that the prayer was not completed after the incident, and that the body was taken directly to the cemetery.

Regarding the scene that followed the shooting, Halasa said that he went out to the church yard after the shooting stopped, and found it, as he put it, “filled with blood,” while he estimated that the shooting lasted between three and seven minutes.