Incident Summary:

08/20/2018: An assailant physically assaulted Reverend Basil John Husko inside of the St. Michael Byzantine Catholic Church in Merrillville, Indiana, United States. Husko was injured in the attack. The assailant repeatedly shouted "this is for all the little kids" during the assault. Sources noted that this was likely in reference to a recent report on sexual abuse in the Catholic church.

GTD ID:
201808200022

When:
2018-08-20

Country:
United States

Region:
North America

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

Indiana

City:
Merrillville

Location Details:
The incident occurred along West 57th Avenue.

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Unarmed Assault
Successful Attack? (more) Yes
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Religious Figures/Institutions
Name of Entity St. Michael Byzantine Catholic Church
Specific Description Priest: Reverend Basil John Hutsko
Nationality of Target United States
Additional Information
Hostages No
Ransom No
Property Damage No
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Melee Hands, Feet, Fists
Additional Information
Suicide Attack?No
Part of Multiple Incident?No
Criterion 1 (more) Yes
Criterion 2 (more) Yes
Criterion 3 (more) Yes
Doubt Terrorism Proper (more) No
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Claimed Responsibility
Unknown Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Personal claim)
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators 1
Number of Captured Perpetrators 0
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 0 Fatalities / 1 Injured
Total Number of Fatalities 0
Number of U.S. Fatalities 0
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities 0
Total Number of Injured 1
Number of U.S. Injured 1
Number of Perpetrators Injured 0
Sources
"Indiana priest attacked by a man yelling, 'this is for all the little kids'," CNN, August 22, 2018.
"Indiana priest assaulted in possible hate crime attack," New York Daily News, August 22, 2018.
"Merrillville Priest Attacked in Church, Assailant Yells, "This is for all the kids!"," WIBC, August 22, 2018.