Patriarch Kirill describes Dagestan church shooting as monstrous crime

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, was “stunned” by the attack in Kizlyar and demanded the most thorough investigation of the incident, Patriarch’s spokesman, priest Aleksandr Volkov, wrote on Telegram.

"The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church considers this monstrous crime, committed on the eve of the Great Lent, a provocation aimed at instigating confrontation between Orthodoxs and Muslims, who have been coexisting peacefully for ages in the Caucasus," the spokesman wrote.

Dagestan’s Muslim Spiritual Authority has called the shooting a "tragedy," saying that it condemns all manifestations of violence. "We express our most sincere condolences to the relatives of those who were killed or injured," the Muftiyat said in a statement.It said the perpetrator was an adherent of Wahhabism, a hardline interpretation of Islam, RT reported.