A group of religious individuals has requested prayers for the assailant who caused the death of Brother Juan Antonio Llorente Espín at the Santo Espíritu del Monte convent in Gilet (Valencia). The religious was brutally attacked by a suspected disturbed individual who burst into the monastery with a violent attitude, threatening to kill the friars.
The incident occurred around 9:30 in the morning when the usual tranquility of the monastery was interrupted by the screams of the assailant, who struck anyone he encountered in his path. The Province of the Immaculate Conception, to which the Franciscan convent belonged, issued a statement asking for prayers for the deceased and the swift recovery of the injured.
Brother Juan Antonio was urgently transferred to the Clínico Hospital of Valencia, where he died two days later in a state of 'brain death' due to severe neurological injuries. Other injured religious individuals remain hospitalized. The Civil Guard detained the assailant, a 46-year-old man, in a squatted apartment in Puerto de Sagunto.
The assailant injured seven religious individuals with a stick, a staff, and a glass bottle. Brother Juan Antonio, at 76 years old and nearly five decades of religious life, suffered the most severe injuries. Brother Ángel Ramón managed to scare off the assailant and alert the authorities.
The detainee faces charges of homicide and attempted murder, as well as assault and trespass. The monastery expresses gratitude for the support received and relies on the comfort and strength of Christ to overcome the tragedy. It has been reported that the assailant was a habitual drug user and suffered from psychotic episodes.
