Catholic priest shoots self while cleaning gun

A Catholic priest, Father Peter Ayala, was
found dead on Sunday morning in his
apartment inside the St. Thomas Moore
Catholic Church, Sobe, in Owan West Local
Government, Edo State.
Ayala, who was due to say the morning
mass at 7am, was said to be cleaning his
double-barrel when it reportedly went off
and killed him.
It was gathered that the incident took place
when some of the worshippers had already
gathered for worship.
Our correspondent was told that when the
gun went off, mass servers and some
church elders went to the father's
apartment to know what was wrong. They
found the priest lying in a pool of blood. The
development reportedly threw the church
into confusion.
The Church elders were said to have
reported the incident to the Bishop of Auchi
Diocese, Dr Gabriel Duniya, who also was
told by security agents that the priest died
when the rifle he was cleaning went off.
It was gathered on Monday that the
community was still mourning as residents
gathered near the church premises.
Edo State Police Public Relations Officer,
Moses Eguavoen, confirmed the incident.
He said, "The incident is unfortunate. The
state command is yet to the get full details of
what transpired before the priest's death."