Barcelona, Spain: A man wielding a machete killed a sexton and injured a priest at two Catholic churches in Algeciras on Wednesday before being apprehended, according to Spain's interior ministry. Authorities are looking into the attacks as a possible terrorist act.

The suspect is being held by Spain's National Police. He was not identified by the ministry.

Algeciras is located near the southernmost tip of Spain, across a bay from Gibraltar. It has a significant port with ferry connections to northern Africa.

The attack began around 7 p.m., when an armed man entered the Maria Auxiliadora y San Isidro church and assaulted a priest, who was seriously injured, according to the ministry.

The assailant then went to Nuestra Seora de La Palma, a five-minute walk away, and attacked the sexton. The sexton, who is in charge of the church, fled outside to a public square, where the attacker killed him, according to the ministry.

The wounded priest was identified as Antonio Rodrguez by the Algeciras town hall as Diego Valencia. According to the town hall, he is hospitalized and in stable condition.

The injured priest was identified as Antonio Rodriguez by the Algeciras town hall, which also gave the sexton's name as Diego Valencia. He was hospitalized, according to the town hall, and his condition was stable.

At least three other injuries were mentioned in the local media. The National Court of Spain reported that a judge had started looking into a potential terrorist act.

According to the interior ministry, police are looking into the incident to ascertain the "nature of the attack." It gave no information about the attacker's intentions. The support was also embraced by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

Sánchez posted on Twitter, "I want to express my sincere condolences to the families of the sexton killed in the terrible attack in Algeciras." "I hope those hurt recover quickly."

On Twitter, Francisco Garca, the secretary general of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, stated: "I have received the news of the incident in Algeciras with great pain." Located in Rome, the conference is a grouping of the country's Catholic bishops.

"We share the sorrow of the victims' families and the diocese of Cadiz in these difficult times," Garca continued. Flags will fly at half-staff on this day of mourning, according to the town hall.

Mayor José Landaluce said, "These acts have left us all in shock and with pain." Despite incidents like these that give a false impression of the city, Algeciras has always been a place where harmony and tolerance rule.