Five people were injured in a knife attack inside the “Dine Hoxha” mosque in Tirana, while many believers were performing religious rites after 2 PM. The believers and other passers-by intervened in time to block the attacker, Rudolf Nikolli, a 34-year-old from Burrel, who according to reports had been declared wanted by the police for another knife attack, that took place last March inside a bus terminal in Tirana. The 5 injured were taken immediately to the hospital, and they are out of danger for their life. Various testimonies claimed that Nikolli had also threatened passers-by after exiting the mosque.
According to BW, after being arrested and questioned by the State Police, Nikolli has shown chaotic communication and aggressive behaviour, and a psychological test will be needed to demonstrate whether he suffers from any mental illness or not. The Imam of the mosque Ahmed Kalaja in a video statement condemned the episode as a “barbaric act,” saying that among the injured were employees of the mosque, and took the opportunity to thank the citizens and the police who intervened. “I wish this was not a terrorist attack, but rather a person with mental illness did this,” said the Imam. The head of the Muslim Community of Albania, Bujar Spahiu, also condemned today’s attack on the “Dine Hoxha” mosque: “We ask the relevant bodies to clarify this event as soon as possible, which hurt the believers during these Ramadan days.”
