A French priest who was shot outside his church was the victim of his lover’s jealous husband, according to prosecutors.
Nikolaos Kakavelakis, 52, was shot twice in the chest at point-blank range on Oct. 31 as he locked up his Greek Orthodox church in Lyon, sparking initial fears it was part of escalating terrorism in the European nation.
But the father of two came out of a coma Wednesday — and told investigators he was attacked because of an illicit affair, according to Agence France-Presse.
A 40-year-old man was arrested and confessed to the shooting, prosecutors told Le Parisien.
The suspect, only identified as Giorgi P., “turns out to be the husband of a woman who was having an affair with the victim,” prosecutors reportedly said in a statement of his 35-year-old Russian wife named Lela K.
He insisted he did not intend to kill the priest when he blasted him with a sawn-off shotgun that he later tossed away.
Kakavelakis had already handed in his resignation to the church, according to the reports.