5 People Stabbed in Attack inside Albania Mosque

Five people were injured in a stabbing attack in a mosque in the Albanian capital Tirana following afternoon prayers, police said on Monday.

The police stated that an Albanian man with a knife wounded five people at a mosque in the capital.

Rudolf Nikolli, 34, entered the Dine Hoxha mosque in downtown Tirana at about 2:30 p.m., according to the police's statement.

Moreover, the police revealed that they reacted immediately after the attack began and took him into custody.

Notably, the five wounded were all men ranging in age from 22 to 35. They were taken to a hospital and police affirmed that their conditions weren't life-threatening.

Nikolli's father, Niko, told Balkanweb online media that his son has been depressed since last year as he wasn't allowed to leave for Italy. Also, he had been infected with the coronavirus.

“Though I am a Catholic I have told him OK (to go to the mosque), because my wife is a Muslim. 'If you do not want to go to the church, go to the mosque as normal people do,’ I've told him,” he said.

He also added that his son was often prevented from entering mosques by worshippers as they told him he was a Christian.

On his part, Ahmed Kalaja, imam of the mosque, mentioned that the armed man attacked worshipers and staff at a time when the mosque was filled with believers during the fasting month of Ramadan.

“We hope it was not a terrorist attack," Kalaja stated, noting that the five wounded men were praying when Nikolli attacked them.