Apparent Asylum Seeker Allegedly Stabs Belgian Priest After Being Welcomed Into His Home

A Belgian priest was stabbed inside his own home on Sunday while trying to help a man who was seeking asylum.

Father Jos Vanderlee, who is 65, was at his home in northeast Belgium, in the town of Lanaken, when the asylum seeker knocked on his door and asked to use the shower, the Telegraph reported.

After using the priest's shower, the asylum seeker allegedly demanded the clergyman give him money. Vanderlee refused to do so, and that's when the man allegedly pulled a knife and stabbed him, according to the Telegraph. The Daily Mail reported the attacker then fled the scene.

An investigation is underway by Belgian authorities. Britain's Express newspaper reported the suspect was still on the run as of Monday.

"Despite the fact that we are shocked, we must stress that this incident can not be linked to terrorist acts at this stage of the investigation," Lanaken Mayor Marino Keulen said.

The Telegraph noted the possibility that the man was only pretending to be an asylum seeker to get inside of the priest's house.

Vanderlee was treated at a nearby hospital for hand and tendon injuries, where he is expected to fully recover.

The incident comes just one week after two attackers stormed a church in France, slitting the throat of an 84-year-old priest.

The attackers were then shot and killed by police. The Islamic State terrorist group has since claimed responsibility.

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