Less than a week after the brutal murder of Fr. Jacques Hamel in France by ISIS militants, a Belgian priest has been stabbed by an asylum seeker in his own house. Fr. Jos Vanderlee, 65, from the town of Lanaken in north east Belgium, was stabbed after he refused to give money to an asylum seeker after the man knocked on his door and asked if he could take a shower.
Fortunately, Fr. Vanderlee is expected to make a full recovery.
While authorities say they are "shocked" by the crime, they do not believe there is any link to terrorism.
According to local newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, a man who said he was an asylum seeker knocked on the vicar's door on Sunday and asked if he could use the shower.
Father Vanderlee agreed and let the man inside – but after showering he is said to have demanded money from the priest.When Father Vanderlee refused, the man allegedly stabbed him before fleeing the scene.
Belgian authorities said they are investigating but denied the incident had links to terrorism.
Marino Keulen, mayor of Lanaken, said: "Despite the fact that we are shocked, we must stress that this incident can not be linked to terrorist acts at this stage of the investigation."
Scary.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member