Woman seriously injured in knife attack during church service in Ireland

• A woman in her 50s was seriously injured in a knife attack during a church service in Tramore, Waterford, Ireland.
• A man in his 30s was arrested nearby shortly after the attack, and the woman is receiving hospital treatment for serious but non-life threatening injuries.
• The local Catholic diocese praised parishioners' courage and expressed shock over the violent incident during Mass.

DUBLIN - A woman in her 50s was seriously injured in a knife attack during a Catholic Church service in the southern Irish county of Waterford on July 21, police said.

Police arrested a man in his 30s at a house nearby after the assault that occurred just before 10am local time in the seaside town of Tramore and left the woman needing treatment for serious but non-life threatening injuries in hospital.

In a separate statement, the local Catholic diocese commended the courage shown by the parishioners who assisted during the “frightening incident”.

“The Diocese of Waterford and Lismore is deeply shocked by the violent incident which occurred this morning during Mass,” the diocese said in the statement. REUTERS