Worshippers Attacked During Sunday Church Service

Dozens of worshippers were feared dead in an attack on a Catholic church in Nigeria on Sunday, state lawmakers said.

The attackers targeted the St Francis Xavier Catholic Church in the town of Owo as the worshippers gathered on Pentecost Sunday, according to local officials. They gunned down parishioners and detonated an explosive device, local media reported. Doctors, local officials and volunteers helping the injured said the death toll was at least 50, with dozens being treated for injuries in overwhelmed local hospitals. Ogunmolasuyi Oluwole, state legislator, said children were among the dead. Videos appearing to be from the scene of the attack showed church worshippers lying in pools of blood while people around them wailed.