Interior Ministry: Patriarch George Rafiq Hosh shot himself at St. George’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Latakia

Latakia-SANA

The Ministry of the Interior stated that Father George Rafiq Hosh shot himself today in the St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Latakia.

The ministry stated in a statement that SANA received a copy of it that it was reported to Sheikh Daher Police Station in Lattakia about the priest George Rafiq Hosh, born in 1956, shooting himself in the St. Al-Khoury, sitting on a chair within the cathedral, was shot in the chest with a pistol lying on the ground next to him.

The ministry added that the medical and judicial examination body came to the scene of the accident, and it was found that the cause of death was traumatic trauma following a gunshot wound to the chest towards the back.

The ministry indicated that through the investigation under the supervision of the Lattakia Governorate Police Chief, it was found that the priest had shot himself with his own 7.5 mm pistol due to psychological and social pressures.

For its part, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Latakia and its dependencies issued a statement about the incident, saying, “The Archdiocese George Rafik Hosh ended his life this evening by shooting himself inside St. George’s Cathedral. This surprising behavior came as a result of accumulated psychological and social pressures. They approach this painful incident in a spirit of prayer until all legal procedures are completed and the burial takes place.”

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