ABUJA, Nigeria — Three men entered a central Nigerian church just before Bible study began, but instead of joining the worship service they opened fire, killing at least 19 people in an attack that shows violence is spreading in the divided nation.
Witnesses and the military described a chaotic, blood-soaked scene at the Deeper Life evangelical church in Otite, a quiet neighborhood on the outskirts of the city of Okene, 155 miles southwest of Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.
Two gunmen sprayed the windowless sanctuary Monday night with fire from Kalashnikov assault rifles, said Lieutenant Colonel Gabriel Olorunyomi, the head of a local joint army and police unit.
Another armed man stayed back and switched off the generator providing lights in the church, leaving those inside unable to flee as the gunfire flashed through the darkness, witness Lawan Saliu said. Saliu, who suffered gunshot wounds to the stomach, spoke from a hospital bed Tuesday.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but Nigeria has faced similar attacks from a radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram.
Olorunyomi said 15 people died in the church and four died later from their injuries. He said that the number of wounded remained unknown.
Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is sacrilege” in Hausa, is blamed for at least 660 killings in Nigeria this year.