Church hostage says attackers forced husband to film slain priest

More horrifying details of the northern France church attack on Tuesday are emerging.

An 86-year-old woman, one of five held hostage Tuesday at the Normandy church, says the attackers had handed her husband Guy a cellphone and demanded that he take photos or video of the priest after he was killed. Her husband was in turn slashed in four places by the attackers and is now hospitalized with serious injuries.

The attackers took hostages at the church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, in France’s northwest region of Normandy, during morning Mass. After the priest was slain, both attackers, at least one of them a local man, were killed by police outside the church. The exact timeline of the attack is still unclear.

The elderly woman identified only as Jeanine tells RMC radio that her husband played dead to stay alive. Two nuns were held hostage along with the couple and the priest, while a third nun escaped and gave the alert.

— AP, Times of Israel staff