A Greek Orthodox priest was reportedly shot and injured in attack on church in Lyon, France

• An assailant with a gun shot a priest of a Greek Orthodox church in Lyon, France, and fled the scene Saturday, according to the Guardian.
• Police sources and witnesses told the outlet that the priest was being treated for life-threatening injuries.
• This incident marks the third attack in France in a span of about two weeks.
• Earlier this week, three people had been stabbed to death in a church in Nice, and about two weeks ago, a teacher was decapitated.

In the latest of a series of attacks in France, an assailant with a gun shot and wounded a Greek Orthodox priest at a church in Lyon, France, and fled the scene Saturday, according to the Guardian.

Police sources and witnesses told the outlet the attacker shot the priest twice as he had been closing the church down for the day. The priest remained on site while medics are treating him for life-threatening injuries, the Guardian reported.

Police closed off the crime scene to pedestrians and visitors.

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the incident Saturday. "I will never accept that we can justify violence," he tweeted. "Our freedoms, our rights, I consider it our vocation to protect them."

In a statement, the Greek Foreign Ministry also condemned the attack, saying the agency is in "constant contact with the competent French authorities."

Saturday's incident marks the latest in a string of attacks in France in recent weeks.

Two people were fatally stabbed and one beheaded at a church in Nice, France, on Thursday. Business Insider previously reported that European security officials said such attacks are not easily preventable because these individuals are oftentimes working alone and leave no communication in the process.

Macron labeled the event an "Islamist terrorist attack" and deployed soldiers to various public sites, including places of worship, to offer their protection. The French interior ministry is advising people to avoid the area, the Guardian reported.

The priest has not yet been identified, but various news outlets say he's Greek, the BBC reported.

"He is a Mediterranean-type man," an officer said on the radio in France, according to the Guardian. "It seems he was hiding a sawn-off shotgun under his coat. He fired it in the direction of the orthodox priest and fled."

The incident also comes two weeks on the heels of another attack. On October 16, a Paris teacher had been decapitated after sharing with his class images of the Prophet Muhammad. Police shot the attacker and brought him into the hospital alive.

Macron also characterized this incident as an "Islamist" attack, saying the teacher "was killed because Islamists want our future."

"Very clearly, it's France that has been attacked," Macron said.