Wounded, after the assailant struck him several times with a machete, the sacristan of the church in Palma de Algeciras ran several tens of meters to try to escape. Until in the middle of the central square of the city he fell. Before him, the attacker held "the katana with both hands, looked up at the sky and shouted 'Allah', while he delivered a final fatal blow." This is the account that the National Court makes, in a car to which La Vanguardia has had access, about the end of the attack on two churches in Cádiz at the hands of Yasin Kanjaa, the young Moroccan who is already being investigated as an alleged jihadist terrorist from salafi court.
In the same square where the sexton Diego Valencia collapsed, more than a thousand people from Algeciras gathered yesterday to observe several minutes of silence for the deceased. Tension was palpable, after learning the lurid details of what is, according to the first indications, the first jihadist attack on Catholic churches in Spain. There have been three of this type in the European Union since 2016. Neighbors also expressed impotence due to the impunity with which the attacker walked through the streets, machete in hand. And bewilderment: hardly anyone knew – not even by sight – the arrested person.
Born in Morocco in 1997, Yasin Kanjaa settled in Algeciras last June. On him weighed -precisely since that same month- an expulsion order due to his irregular situation that did not materialize. Neither he nor he had a criminal record –neither in Spain nor in other allied countries– nor was he being followed by agents of the Information Commissioner, as some media published. Thus, his profile fits as one of the most difficult to detect for experts in the fight against terrorism, who think that the detainee has undergone a rapid process of radicalization.
The corral with two substandard houses in which he shared a flat is a few meters from where his attack began. In the entry and search car, the judge recounts the 'deadly' tour that Kanjaa made. Although he maintains that the intentions for which he entered the Church of San Isidro at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday are unknown, the truth is that once inside he began a discussion with those present, "vehemently telling the parishioners that the only religion to follow is the Islamic religion".
According to the account of the events, after leaving said place uttering messages in Arabic "whose content is unknown", at 7:40 p.m. that afternoon he returned to the scene of the events. From inside the church, someone outside the church was heard shouting in Arabic.
"Once the mass is over, the priest in charge of it comes down from the pulpit to check what was happening, at which point the person investigated, carrying a large machete in his hand, suddenly assaults the priest causing serious injuries." , collect the resolution.
He also tried to attack one of the witnesses. From there he fled and went to another Catholic center of worship called Virgen La Palma located about 200 meters from the previous place. "In that place he meets the sacristan of this church, who was leaving the place through a back door. At that moment, Kanjaa began several attacks on him, causing him some initial injuries," he says.
The sacristan tried to flee but was hit by the attacker "who, once he had him on the ground, held the katana with both hands and looking up at the sky and shouting a few words in Arabic among which the word 'allah' was heard. delivers one last killing blow," he emphasizes.
The judge's account goes on to explain that after ending the life of the sacristan, "quietly" he went to what is known as Ermita Europa located in that same square and tried to access the interior of it. It was there when agents of the Algeciras Local Police were waiting for him. He did not resist, he allowed himself to be arrested. "Once arrested, he is transferred to the medical center of that city to receive medical assistance, at which point he repeatedly shouts 'Allahu Akbar,'" he concludes.
After his arrest, the first movements of the investigators were tending to find out if the crime had motivations of religious extremism or of another type. Among the first signs they found is that despite having a "mental imbalance" there are signs that he is a jihadist. The data that the agents in charge of the case have, for now, is that it would be a young man of rapid self-radicalization of a Salafi jihadist nature who has decided to act on his behalf, with almost no prior preparation.
Without connections, without prior planning, which prevents, according to sources of the investigation, being able to make a previous detection to have avoided it. "It is almost impossible to anticipate something like this," explain the agents who are experts in the fight against terrorism.
From the National Court it is already followed, at least in these first moments, as a case of lone wolf. Or rather an amok, who guided by resentment acts with violence. On Wednesday night, the instructor Joaquín Gadea authorized an entry and search of the home in search of signs of this radicalization and possible foreign connections. The Police requested an extension of detention, so the suspect will not testify before the judge until Monday.
The most recent experience in Spain was another similar attack in 2021 and which is also being investigated by the National Court. It was a fatal accident in the Murcian town of Torre Pacheco in which two people died after a vehicle invaded the road and crashed into the terrace of a bar. According to legal sources, one year after the event the matter remains secret in the National Court and for now it continues to be investigated as terrorism, despite the inconsistencies that the author has been showing and given the suspicion that he also suffers from a mental disorder, although there is no previous precedent about it.
