Driving through Jordan’s villages, the desert landscape can feel quiet and still. In these communities, where neighbours know one another and families have shared their lives for centuries, there is often a deep belief that when trouble comes, people will stand together. This is the case of Hamoud, a village in Jordan’s Karak Governorate.
Yet, on Friday, October 23 2026, the sense of safety was shattered. Gunmen opened fire outside St. George’s Greek Orthodox Church as people gathered for a funeral. By the end of the attack, nine people had been killed and around 50 injured. Three suspects were arrested on Monday as the investigation continued.
Today, the church stands as a painful reminder of what happened. Shattered glass and bullet marks remain. Police officers guard the area, and the olive trees that stood for generations surrounding the church offer little comfort.
For those who were there, the attack did not end when the shooting stopped.
“No one expected this to happen at a church”
One of the survivors described how an ordinary funeral turned into a scene of terror. In their community, men traditionally gather outside during funerals while women enter the church. He was outside when he heard the gunshots. His first reaction was to drop down to the floor.
The gunman continued firing, pausing to reload before shooting again. Witness described the attacker firing repeatedly at some of the same victims to make sure they are dead.
“No one expected this to happen at a church,” he said.
The gunfire began near the church’s main entrance. According to the survivor, an injured person managed to close the church doors, helping protect the approximately 100 people gathered inside. The gunmen then fired at the church windows.
He believes that if the attacker had managed to enter the building, the consequences could have been far worse. It would have been a massacre.
Yet even as the community counts the lives lost and the injured, the impact of the attack is also being measured in sleepless nights and sense of fear.
“I still can’t sleep properly since the shooting took place because of the horrors I saw,” he said. The likely radical nature of the perpetrators’ motives as communicated by the Jordanian authorities raises the question whether Christians in Jordan are still able to gather, pray, mourn in safety.
The attack was particularly shocking because Christians and Muslims in Karak have lived together peacefully for generations. “What happened is surprising, we have always lived with our Muslim brothers peacefully in Karak,” he said. He struggled to understand how anyone could carry out such an act. “Those who committed these atrocities have no religion… no ethics.”
Although Jordan has experienced terrorist attacks before, including violence in Karak in 2016, an attack on people gathered for a church funeral struck at unexpected.
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A response that brought reassurance, but not an end to fear
For Jordan’s Christian community, the response from the country’s leadership has been an important source of reassurance.
Another Christian Jordanian described the government’s response as prompt and said the King’s visit to affected families on the day of the attack carried particular significance. King Abdullah II referred to those killed as “our Jordanian martyrs” and promised that those responsible would face justice.
On October 26, authorities announced that three suspects had been arrested following an operation in Karak. Investigation continues. The response demonstrated that the victims were not being treated as a community standing alone. They were Jordanians whose lives mattered to the country as a whole.
Yet the arrest of suspects cannot, by itself, restore the sense of security that was lost. Fear is still dwelling. The attack has left people considering very different paths forward.
Some are forced to think about acquiring weapons to protect themselves (especially in the villages). Others may consider leaving Jordan and seeking safety elsewhere. For others, the violence has strengthened their determination to stay, remain rooted in their country and continue living alongside their Muslim neighbours.
"Jesus is the only source of security. I'm not afraid of death."
When asked what gives Christians security in Jordan today, another Christian Jordanian answered from the heart of his faith. “Jesus is the only source of security. I’m not afraid of death.”
“They were all loved”
For those who survived the shooting, the pain extends to the families who lost loved ones, the injured who continue to recover, and the wider community trying to understand what has happened.
When one survivor was asked how others could pray for her, her answer was not focused on herself alone.
“Pray that God brings comfort to the families of the people who lost their lives; I can feel their pain; they were all loved… pray for me and all those who were at the church … for things to calm down…”
Her words carry the weight of collective mourning. She knows that the people who died were more than names in a news report. They were loved ones, members of families and friends whose absence will be felt long after the church doors reopen.
Pray
- Pray that the Jordanian Christian community is able to support one another in this time of grieving and loss.
- Thank God for the support received from the authorities. Pray that the government will address the root causes of extremism and work to prevent future attacks.
- Pray that the testimony of the Christians will glorify God and build His kingdom.
