Spokane priest attacked during prayer service
Feb 7, 2025, 8:11 AM
A screenshot of a Spokane priest being attacked during service. (Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
A man has been arrested after video shows him allegedly attacking a Spokane priest, who was in the middle of a prayer service.
The video can be seen here.
The incident occurred earlier this week in front of around 400 parishioners at the Cathedral of our Lady Lourdes.
Security footage from the church shows a man in the front row standing up and charging the alter and going after one of the priests, Father Gaines, at the tail end of the service. The church had been taking part in nine days of prayer leading up to Feb. 11, otherwise known as Lady of Lourdes Feast Day.
Father Darrin Connal told KREM 2 News that in his 14 years at this church, he has never seen a situation unfold like this.
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“I didn’t realize how serious it was in the sense of we are in a downtown parish … we see disruptions and things like that all the time,” Connal told KREM 2.
Connal said Gaines was not physically injured.
The man who charged Gaines was arrested.
The motive of his attack is unknown.
