Incident Summary:
12/31/2001: Five assailants attacked worshippers in the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Castries, Castries Quarter, St. Lucia. The five men attacked while 400 people were in attendance during Holy Communion; they began dousing people in gasoline, setting them on fire, and hacking at them with machetes. The assailants also set fire to the altar and to a priest. Two people were killed, including a nun, and at least 12 were hospitalized. Two men were taken into custody; they stated that they were Rastafarians and claimed that they had been sent by God to cleanse the Catholic church of corruption.
Overview
GTD ID:
200012310007
When:
2000-12-31
Country:
St. Lucia
Region:
Central America & Caribbean
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Castries Quarter
City:
Castries
Location Details:
The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Castries
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Religious Figures/Institutions |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Catholic church |
| Specific Description |
Religious representatives and worshippers at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Castries |
| Nationality of Target |
St. Lucia |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
No |
| Ransom |
No |
| Property Damage |
Yes |
| Extent of Property Damage |
Unknown |
| Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Melee |
Knife or Other Sharp Object |
| Incendiary |
Gasoline or Alcohol |
| Weapon Details |
|---|
| The assailants doused people with gasoline and lit them on fire, while hacking at them with machetes |
Additional Information
| Suicide Attack? | No |
| Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
| Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
| Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
| Additional Information |
Sources state that, prior to the attack, an anti-Christ symbol had been posted on several Catholic churches |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
| Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
| Rastas |
Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Other) |
Perpetrator Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
5 |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
2 |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
2 Fatalities / 12 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
2 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
| Total Number of Injured |
12 |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
| Guy Ellis, "Armed group kills nun, injures at least 12 during Sunday Mass," Associated Press, December 31, 2000. |
| "Two die in St. Lucia sword and fire church attack," Reuters, January 1, 2001. |
| "St. Lucia attackers say they were sent by God," The New York Times, January 2, 2001. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties
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