--- description: Two men were detained on Sunday in connection with the murder of a priest during last week's attack on a Normandy church. title: 2 Arrested in France Over Murder of Priest image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31356b5c7b0a5369/6988a0888e06018eee466ff2/gettyimages-584722034.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Two Arrested in France Over Murder of Priest by [Amanda Calvo](/author/amanda-calvo/) ## Amanda Calvo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 1, 2016 7:44 AM CUT  A nun reacts as people attend a vigil in tribute to French priest Jacques Hamel at the church of Sainte-Therese in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, on July 30, 2016. A nun reacts as people attend a vigil in tribute to French priest Jacques Hamel at the church of Sainte-Therese in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, on July 30, 2016.Charly Triballeau—AFP/Getty Images by [Amanda Calvo](/author/amanda-calvo/) ## Amanda Calvo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 1, 2016 7:44 AM CUT Two men were detained on Sunday in connection with the murder of a priest during last week’s attack on a Normandy church. One of the two in custody is Farid K, the 30-year-old cousin of one of the attackers Abdel Malik Petitjean, and is being held under suspicion of “terrorist association,” according to the BBC. The second man is 20-year-old Jean-Philippe Steven J who is under investigation after allegedly trying to travel to Syria last month with Petitjean. News of the arrests emerged as Muslims across France attended[ mass in a show of solidarity](http://time.com/4432359/muslims-catholic-mass-france-italy-solidarity/ "undefined") after the gruesome murder. Petitjean and Adel Kermiche, both 19, stormed the church in the small French town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, and took hostages during morning mass last Tuesday. The pair slit 86-year-old Father Jacques Hamel’s throat before being killed by police. ISIS claimed [responsibility for the attack,](http://time.com/4423536/normandy-hostages-church-france/ "undefined") releasing a video purporting to show the killers pledging allegiance to the extremist group. \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36938213 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4432677/two-arrested-in-france-over-murder-of-priest/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4432677/two-arrested-in-france-over-murder-of-priest/"},"headline":"Two Arrested in France Over Murder of Priest","datePublished":"2016-08-01T07:44:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:40:54.658Z","description":"86-year-old Father Jacques Hamel had his throat slit in last week's church attack","url":"https://time.com/4432677/two-arrested-in-france-over-murder-of-priest/","keywords":["France","ISIS"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31356b5c7b0a5369/6988a0888e06018eee466ff2/gettyimages-584722034.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Amanda Calvo","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/amanda-calvo/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31356b5c7b0a5369/6988a0888e06018eee466ff2/gettyimages-584722034.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"FRANCE-ATTACK-CHURCH-TRIBUTE","caption":"FRANCE-ATTACK-CHURCH-TRIBUTE","creditText":"Charly Triballeau—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4432677/two-arrested-in-france-over-murder-of-priest/","name":"Two Arrested in France Over Murder of Priest"}}]}] ```