‘No one knew if it was a bomb or gunman’
A witness who said they were inside the church when the attack took place told a reporter at the scene: “It was chaos. It was horrible.
“No one knew if it was a bomb or gunman. We were looking for places to hide. We all just snuggled into corners where we could. We left after about 10 minutes, I did not dare [leave before]. It was not nice.”
Another witness said mourners were gathered outside the church to watch the release of doves when the incident took place.
“When the service finished, we were outside to see the flying of doves. A black car came and started to shoot bullets. It was chaotic,” said Jaouida Ifghallal.
The shooting reportedly took place during the funeral of a mother and daughter - Fresia Calderon, 50, and Sara Sanchez, 20 - who died within a month of each other, according to the news outlet MyLondon.
Calderon fainted while getting off a flight from Colombia to Heathrow Airport and died at the scene on November 5.
Doctors later blamed a pulmonary embolism, a rare blood clot that usually starts in the legs but gets stuck in an artery in the lungs.
Sanchez died 25 days later, having been diagnosed with leukaemia aged 17.
A family member said Sara “gave up all hope” after her mother passed away.
It is not yet clear how the victims knew Calderon and Sanchez, or why the funeral service was targeted.
Father Jeremy Trood, of St Aloysius church, said: “I heard a big bang and police are in the church at the moment. People who were leaving the church have rushed back in.”
