Residents of Obodo, Amaimo community in Ikeduru Local Government Area, Imo State are in the grips of anxiety over the killing of a 20-year-old man by a Catholic priest, Rev. Father Joseph Enyinnaya.

The bloody incident, which occurred at St Columbus Catholic Church Amaimo on Tuesday, reportedly happened when the priest in charge of the parish released a gunshot into the air in response to knockout explosives reportedly fired by some young boys who attended the new year crossover mass.

A stray bullet from the priest?s revolver was said to have claimed the life of one of the boys and left another seriously injured.

Reacting to the incident, the Catholic Archbishop of Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, in statement made available to The Nation, described the incident as unfortunate.

He said: ?The Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri highly regrets the shooting incident that took place on the eve of the New Year at the premises of St Columbus Catholic Church Amaimo, leading to the death of the young man and wounding of another.

?The Archdiocese of Owerri condoles with the breached family and prays for the happy repose of the dead and the steady recovery of the injured.

?Meanwhile, the police are investigating the incident and the circumstances surrounding it.

?We, therefore, call for calm at St Columbus Prish, Amaimo.?

Approached for comments, some of the villagers were reluctant to speak for fear of possible arrest and interrogation by security agents.

A youth leader, who craved anonymity, cautiously revealed that the deceased was not from their village.

?He?s not our son,? the youth leader said, his voice barely above a whisper.

?We don?t know much about what happened.?

The reluctance of the youth leader to throw more light on the blood-chilling incident and the villagers? eerie silence suggest that they may be covering up or avoiding discussions on the incident.

The atmosphere in the village remains tense with many residents seemingly afraid to speak.

However, some eyewitnesses revealed that the victim and his peers were throwing bangers while the mass was on.

A resident close to the church told The Nation yesterday that the priest drew out his revolver and shot twice in the air, but one of the bullets accidentally killed the boy.

The resident said: ?The boys were shooting the bangers while the mass was on, and the people were scared by the sound of the banger.

?The parish priest came out and shot in the air to probably scare the boys, but one of the bullets hit the deceased.

?We believe it was a mistake.?

But the incident has sent shockwaves through the community, with some residents expressing surprise that a priest could be in possession of a gun.

?We do not know that men of God carry arms,? one resident said.

Some, however, berated the boys for disrupting the mass.

?The boys were throwing banger, and the sound of the banger was disrupting the mass and disturbing the people,? an okada rider who gave his name as Nonoye said.

However, the Catechist of the parish, Policarp Opara, said although he was not present when the incident occurred, there was no way the Catholic Priest would have deliberately shot the victim, even as he attested to the integrity and credibility of the Reverend Father whom he said he had known for two and a half decades as an ideal man of God.

Opara said: ?I have known him since he has been in the parish 25 years ago. He has never been involved in anything that is questionable.

?I was not in the church for the night programme because I was having a thanksgiving programme on the 1st of January.

?So, I did not attend the mass on the eve of the incident, because I couldn?t have stayed the night and still wake up in the morning for the thanksgiving event which took place at 6.30am.

?So, I do not speak on what I don?t know. I speak on what I know and can defend at any time.

?I also have no reasonable source who has narrated to me what transpired.

?As I told you, I was not there when it happened, but I know it was a mistake as the reverend father couldn?t have shot the victim deliberately.?

The catechist added: ?There will be a meeting of the Parish Council where what actually happened will be discussed.

?I will be there at the meeting which the Council Chairman will call very soon to discuss the issue.

?I know that the Parish Priest cannot deliberately kill someone. He is a good priest who the whole of Amaimo recently celebrated his Silver Jubilee priestly ordination.?

Contacted, the traditional ruler of the community, HRH Eze VC Achionye (the Udo 1 of Obodo Amaimo Autonomous Community), said he was at a meeting and promised to get back to our reporter later.

He, however, had not done at the time of filling our report.

The embattled priest has since been arrested by the Imo State Police Command with investigation in top gear.

The police spokesman in the state, Henry Okoye (ASP), who confirmed the arrest, said investigation was ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding the shooting. (The Nation)

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