A Jordan church attack survivor has recounted how her cousin died before her eyes after gunmen opened fire during a funeral service at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak governorate, killing nine people and injuring 40 others.
Sahar al-Halsa was attending the funeral of her cousin’s daughter at Saint George’s Greek Orthodox Church in the village of Hamoud when the attackers began shooting, triggering panic among mourners.
Al-Halsa said she took cover behind a pillar as gunshots rang out and people screamed. When she eventually rushed outside, she saw the attackers and discovered that another cousin, Assem, was lying wounded on the ground.
The traumatic encounter unfolded during Friday’s attack, approximately 120 kilometres southwest of Amman, Jordan’s capital. The incident has shocked the local Christian community and prompted the country’s leadership to demand a forceful security response.
Survivor Describes Cousin’s Final Moments
Speaking from her home in Hamoud, Al-Halsa recalled desperately calling out to her wounded cousin after finding him outside the church.
“I went to him and said: ‘Assem, Assem, my darling, answer me’,” she said.
According to her account, Assem briefly opened his eyes and looked at her before dying.
She described the moment as devastating, recounting how she watched helplessly as her cousin passed away following the shooting.
The attack occurred during a funeral gathering, turning a religious ceremony into a scene of fear and confusion. Witnesses said the shooting continued for several minutes as people struggled to understand what was happening and find safety.
Al-Halsa later reflected on her own survival, expressing the belief that she had been spared from death.
“My life starts now, because I was going to die,” she said, speaking beside her husband, Ziad al-Halsa.
The survivor’s account captures the personal tragedy behind the attack, which claimed nine lives and left dozens more injured in a country where such violence against worshippers is uncommon.
Husband Recounts Fear After Hearing Gunshots
Al-Halsa’s husband, Ziad, said he immediately ran towards the church after hearing the gunfire.
His priority was to discover whether his wife had been caught in the attack. He described feeling overwhelming relief when he found out she had survived.
Ziad referred to Sahar as “the love of his life”, conveying the fear he experienced while rushing to the scene without knowing whether she was safe.
He also expressed sorrow for relatives who died in the shooting.
“To my cousins, may God have mercy on them,” he said.
The couple’s account highlights how the violence affected families gathered for a funeral, with relatives suddenly confronted by death, injuries and uncertainty over the fate of their loved ones.
Funeral services for those killed in the attack were expected to take place on Sunday, October 25, as the community prepared to bury the victims.
King Abdullah Orders Tough Response to Church Shooting
The shooting prompted King Abdullah II of Jordan to order security forces to respond with an “iron fist” to what authorities described as extremist terrorism.
The monarch’s directive reflects the seriousness with which Jordanian officials are treating the attack, particularly because it targeted a place of worship during a funeral.
Jordan is a close United States partner in efforts to counter Islamist militant organisations in the region. Although the country is considered relatively stable compared with several of its neighbours, authorities have reported foiling suspected Islamist plots in recent years.
Officials have not established whether the gunmen involved in Friday’s shooting were connected to any known extremist organisation.
Authorities said investigations were continuing and that security personnel were searching for the attackers. They also cautioned that it was too early to determine whether the suspects had links to groups operating inside or outside Jordan.
No organisation had immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
The absence of a claim of responsibility means investigators have yet to publicly establish the perpetrators’ motives or any organisational connection.
Nine Killed and 40 Injured in Rare Attack
The attack left nine people dead and approximately 40 wounded, according to the report.
The casualties resulted from gunfire at Saint George’s Greek Orthodox Church in Hamoud, within the Karak governorate in southern Jordan.
The incident has drawn particular attention because attacks of this nature are highly unusual in Jordan, where religious gatherings generally take place without such violence.
The country has maintained relative stability despite regional insecurity and the activities of militant groups in parts of the Middle East.
Nevertheless, Jordanian authorities have previously warned about extremist threats and said security services have disrupted several suspected Islamist plots over recent years.
The latest shooting is expected to intensify concerns about protecting religious minorities and public gatherings, although investigators have not yet released a definitive explanation for why the church was targeted.
The investigation will need to establish the identities of the gunmen, their motives and whether they acted independently or had connections to a wider network.
Until those findings are made public, the circumstances surrounding the attack remain under investigation.
Priest Calls for Love, Peace and Reassurance
As the community prepared for the victims’ funerals, priest Yuhanna Hamati delivered a message of peace and reassurance from the church where the shooting occurred.
Despite the violence and loss of life, Hamati said the church’s message would remain focused on love and peaceful coexistence.
“Our message from this church, from this place where this horrific crime was committed, is a message of love, peace, and reassurance. A message that we send to the whole world,” he said.
His remarks offered a response to the attack rooted in faith and solidarity, as mourners faced the painful task of remembering those who had died.
For families such as the al-Halsas, the tragedy has left an enduring personal loss. Sahar survived the gunfire, but she witnessed her cousin’s final moments and must now confront the grief of losing a relative during what should have been a solemn funeral gathering.
The attack has also placed renewed attention on the security of Christian communities in Jordan and the wider region.
Jordanian authorities continue to search for the perpetrators, while the investigation seeks to determine whether the shooting was linked to a recognised extremist group.
As the victims’ families prepare to bury their loved ones, the survivor’s testimony offers a harrowing account of the human consequences of the violence.
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