Two Coptic brothers, Adel and Ashraf Boulos, aged 46 and 43, were killed in a drive-by shooting in the early hours of the first day of 2018, in the Giza district of Umraniya. Masked men boarding a tuk-tuk shot at a Coptic-owned shop that sells alcoholic drinks in Umraniya and quickly fled. The Bouloses, who were heading home from church with their children after attending a New Year Midnight service, had stopped by the shop at that time. Once the shooting started, they quickly shielded their children, four children aged 5 to 12, but they lost their lives.
A funeral service was held in the evening at the church of Mar-Girgis in Giza. Anba Theodosius, Bishop of Mid-Giza, presided over the service. He offered his condolences to the families of the deceased, and said that we do not grieve for those who lose their lives on account of being Christian—he was alluding to the fact that the gunmen shot at the shop because they knew the owner was a Christian, and that frequenters of the shop would in all probability be Christian.
Anba Theodosius said that, according to our faith, we do not fear death; but that the State should not turn a blind eye to the hate culture flagrantly propagated by extremists.
The police are investigating the case and hunting down the killers.
Watani International
2 January 2018