The Spanish National Court prosecutor has requested a 50-year prison sentence for a Moroccan jihadist who killed a sacristan in Algeciras and wounded several others during a machete attack on multiple churches. The defendant, who was living in Spain without regular status, faces charges of terrorist murder, both completed and in attempt, along with injuries resulting from a terrorist act.
The events unfolded on January 25, 2023, when Yasin Kanza, a 25-year-old Moroccan man, struck three churches with a machete while shouting beliefs about death to Christians and the greatness of God.
The parish priest of the La Palma church in Algeciras, Juan José Marina, believes the attacker who entered the temple that afternoon and killed the sacristan may have mistaken the victim for the priest. “Instead of my death, his has come to pass”, he lamented in statements to the press agency.
According to the prosecutor’s account of the sequence of events, the young man spiraled into increasing violence that culminated in the slaying of the sacristan with knife blows.
Around six in the evening, the indictment notes, Kanza went to the San Isidro church in Algeciras, where he struck a prayer bench with a Bible and challenged a worshiper, asking, “Why do you believe in a cast?” After leaving, he reportedly shouted references to Allah and declared that the world was ending, returning home to switch off his mobile phone, store it in a drawer, and retrieve a large machete concealed under his bed.
Approximately 15 minutes after leaving the church, authorities say the first victim was confronted by the assailant, who broke the man’s glasses and shouted, “You work for magic.” The assailant showed the machete to the exposed victim before continuing his path.
Another 15 minutes passed, and in the early evening, the Moroccan suspect, who was in irregular status in Spain and believed to have acted as a lone wolf, headed to the San Isidro church again.
There, a Mass was under way with about ten attendees. After destroying several objects and wielding the machete, he pursued the 74-year-old priest presiding over the service, delivering a severe blow to the back of the head before fleeing the scene.
The final stop was 200 meters away, at the Nuestra Señora de La Palma church courtyard, where the sacristan confronted the attacker. After an initial assault, the sacristan attempted to defend himself with a chair and managed to reach the plaza, but the assailant continued, delivering two powerful machete blows, one to the neck and another to the head, resulting in the sacristan’s death.
The La Palma parish priest, Juan José Marina, later stated that the attacker likely believed the victim was the priest. “Rather that I die, he has died”, he told the agency Efe.
This sequence, as described by prosecutors, portrays a chilling escalation of violence that ended in lethal force and has triggered a broader national discussion about lone-wolf terrorism and the vulnerability of religious sites.
Citations: Prosecutor’s Office statements, Efe coverage, and court documents cited by national outlets.
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