![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-300x200.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
No fewer than three Israelis were killed and 16 others injured after two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a crowded bus stop in West Jerusalem, Israeli police say.
The assailants were shown on CCTV stepping out of a car on a highway and killing individuals standing on the sidewalk with a rifle and a handgun.
The shooters, who authorities said were from occupied East Jerusalem, were slain by off-duty troops and a civilian on the site.
Israel’s national security minister said they were “Hamas operatives.”
There was no immediate reaction from Hamas, which had only hours earlier agreed with Israel to extend a cease-fire in Gaza for a seventh day and allow another exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Tel Aviv as part of efforts to extend the halt in the devastating war, which was precipitated by Hamas’s lethal strike on Israel on October 7.
Blinken described the attack as a “reminder of the terrorism threat that Israel and Israelis face on a daily basis.”
At around 07:40 (05:40 GMT), Israeli police received reports of shootings at the Givat Shaul junction on the key highway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
“A car approached with two armed terrorists—one with an M16 rifle and the other with a handgun,” Jerusalem District Commander Doron Turgeman told reporters at the scene.
“At a bus stop, they opened fire at people who were waiting there,” he said. “The quick response of two soldiers and a civilian, who were close to the stop, neutralized the attackers.”
Officers searching the gunmen’s vehicle later discovered a substantial amount of ammo.
Moshe Hemed, a paramedic for Magen David Adom (MDA), hurried to the scene.
“I saw a number of casualties… Some were lying, and some were walking. Along with large numbers of MDA teams, we assessed and treated them,” he said.
“Unfortunately, we had to pronounce a 24-year-old female deceased and evacuate a further eight casualties in varying conditions to hospitals across the city.”
Police later confirmed that two more victims of the incident had died and that three more were in critical condition in the hospital.
The 24-year-old lady was identified as Livia Dickman, and the two others were killed as Rabbi Elimelech Wasserman, 73, and Hana Ifergan, 67.
According to police, the attackers were two brothers in their 30s from the Sur Baher neighborhood of East Jerusalem.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
