Coptic priest murdered in Cairo church

CAIRO

A priest was shot to death on Monday by a private security guard inside a church in northern Cairo, according to Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church.

In a statement, the church identified the slain priest as Makar Saad Makar.

According to the statement, the incident occurred at St. Mark’s Church in Cairo’s northern Shubra al-Khaimah district.

“The archbishop has since briefed the authorities on what happened and investigations are now underway,” the statement read.

Monday's murder is the second incident of its kind -- in less than a year -- to occur in an Egyptian church.

In July of last year, a Coptic bishop was found dead inside Egypt’s Abu Maqar monastery.

Following an investigation, it emerged that the bishop had been killed by two Coptic monks, both of whom were sentenced to death in April.