CAIRO — Coptic Christian families have fled their homes in a town in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, fearing for their lives after receiving death threats from suspected Islamic militants, a local priest said Thursday.

Father Youssef Sobhi said militants dropped leaflets on the doorsteps of shops owned by Copts in the city of Rafah, ordering them to leave within 48 hours and making an implicit warning of violence if they didn’t. Two days later, masked militants on a motorcycle opened fire on one of the shops before speeding off, Sobhi said. No one was hurt.