Nine people were killed in the Jordan church attack in Karak, after two critically injured mourners died on Saturday and raised a toll that Jordanian authorities first put at seven on Friday. Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at St George's Greek Orthodox Church in Hmoud, in the southern Karak province, on Friday, October 23. CNN reported 40 people were injured. The gunmen had not been captured, no group had claimed responsibility, and Jordanian officials had not announced any arrests in the reporting opened for this article.
What happened at the funeral in Hmoud?
The shooting began about 15 minutes into the funeral service, a witness told the Associated Press. Dorgham Halasa told AP that intense gunfire erupted inside the church and people began running; he did not see the gunmen, but others he spoke with reported seeing at least four of them, Fox News reported, noting Jordanian authorities had not confirmed the number of attackers as of Saturday. Footage shown on Jordanian state television showed two gunmen armed with what appeared to be pistols approaching the church and opening fire, AP reported via Fox News; a third man carrying what appeared to be a semiautomatic rifle joined them moments later, before all three rushed toward the church. CNN's account, citing state-run Al-Mamlaka television and its own witness reporting, described more than 150 people inside and outside the church, one attacker carrying an assault rifle, and a shooting that continued for several minutes. A woman who hid behind the altar with other mourners told CNN: "It was a massacre … I did not imagine I would get out alive." The differing attacker counts — three men visible in the state-television footage described by AP, at least four reported by people Halasa spoke with — are published unreconciled; authorities have not confirmed a number.
How did the toll rise from seven to nine?
The toll moved in stages as the wounded died. Jordan's Public Security Directorate said on Friday that seven people were killed and 34 others were injured, Xinhua reported. On Saturday, the directorate said two people in critical condition had succumbed to their injuries at Prince Ali Military Hospital, raising the death toll to nine. CNN put the injured at 40 and reported Health Minister Ibrahim al-Budour saying two of the wounded were in critical condition; Fox News, reporting Saturday, said al-Budour said one critically injured patient remained in hospital in unstable condition. Those hospital-status lines reflect statements at different points on Saturday and are published as reported by each outlet, not reconciled into a single figure.
What have Jordanian officials said about motive?
Officials have described the attack as terrorism rooted in extremist ideology, while stating that the gunmen's affiliations are not yet established. The public security agency said on Friday that the shooting was a terrorist attack against Christians attending a funeral, CNN reported. Government spokesperson Mohammad Momani said on Saturday that the attackers subscribed to "extremist takfiri ideology," which brands people who reject a strict interpretation of Islam as apostates or nonbelievers, Fox News reported. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan said, via the official Petra news agency: "What happened in Karak was the result of extremist terrorist ideology rooted in takfir (declaring others to be infidels), and we will not allow society to go down this path," CNN reported. Fox News noted it remained unclear whether the gunmen were affiliated with any terror group. No claim of responsibility had been reported in the sources opened.
How has Jordan responded?
King Abdullah chaired a National Security Council meeting on Saturday, condemned the attack, and said there would be no leniency when it came to the lives of Jordanians, Xinhua reported; he underscored that the security and safety of Jordanians are a red line and vowed justice would reach every terrorist. In his earlier statement, carried by CNN, the king said: "The blood of Jordanians is precious, and we will strike those who transgress against this country with an iron fist." CNN reported the king visited the injured at Prince Ali hospital on Friday, that Hassan declared three days of mourning with flags at half-staff, and that condemnations came from the US Embassy in Jordan, Israel's foreign ministry, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Cairo's Al-Azhar Institute and the Iraqi government. CNN noted sectarian attacks are rare in Jordan and that Christians make up about 2% of the population; Momani emphasised that Christians are "part of Jordan's national fabric," Fox News reported. What is established is a funeral attacked, nine dead, a manhunt still open, and an investigation that has not yet named the men it is hunting.
This report is drawn from CNN's October 23, 2026 report, updated and opened and read in full; Xinhua's October 24, 2026 report via People's Daily Online, opened and read in full; and Fox News' October 24, 2026 report incorporating Associated Press reporting, opened and read in full. Casualty figures are published as each authority and outlet reported them in sequence — seven killed and 34 injured in the directorate's Friday statement, nine killed after two critically injured victims died on Saturday, and 40 injured per CNN — with the differing attacker and critical-condition counts left unreconciled and attributed, because the authorities had not confirmed them. No claim of responsibility and no arrests were reported in the sources opened.
