The Coptic Orthodox Church reported that three monks were attacked and killed at the monastery of St. Mark and St. Bishop Samuel the Confessor in Cullinan, South Africa, about 29 kilometers east of the country’s capital, Pretoria.
In an official statement, the Coptic Orthodox Church said that the attack resulted in the martyrdom of Fr. Takla El-Samouili, diocesan vicar; Fr. Youstos Ava-Markos; and Fr. Mina Ava-Markosthree.
According to Reuters, the three victims were found with stab wounds, while a fourth person who survived said he was hit by an iron bar before fleeing and hiding, said South African police spokesman Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi.
The BBC reported that an Egyptian member of the Church has been arrested as a possible suspect.
Pope Tawadros II, according to the statement from the Coptic Orthodox Church, is closely following the details of the incident, waiting to learn its causes.