Autopsy report details church attack deaths

An autopsy report has revealed the way the victims of the Warraq church attack on Sunday were killed, the state-run Al-Ahram reported on Tuesday. 

On Sunday night, two armed gunmen on a motorbike opened fire on a gathering of people at the Virgin Mary church in Warraq, as they were attending a wedding celebration. 

According to Hesham Abdel Hamid, who heads the autopsy unit at the Forensic Authority, eight-year-old Mariam Ashraf was killed by a bullet in the back that went through her chest. 

Thirteen-year-old Mariam Nabil received five bullets, three of which went through her chest and shoulder and came out of her back, while two bullets stayed in her lower part. 

Sixty-two year old Kamilia Helmy died from three bullet wounds in the neck and stomach and 77-year-old Samir Fahmy died of a bullet to the back. 

Eyewitnesses have told Mada Masr that there was a slow police response as the attack happened, while ambulances also reached the site of the attack late. 

The Maspero Youth Coalition which advocates for Copts’ rights has accused the government of failing to protect the Coptic community, calling for demonstrations in front of the Cabinet headquarters on Tuesday to call for the removal of Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim and demand that security officials be held accountable.