Easter weekend is supposed to be joyous. There are family gatherings, egg hunts, big dinners, tons of chocolate, and if you’re Christian, beautiful celebrations of one of your holiest holidays.
But for Christians in Sri Lanka, Easter 2019 is now the scene of an awful terror attack.
The story is still unfolding, but here is what we know so far.
Six initial blasts occurred in the morning.
Three of the explosions happened in crowded churches just after Easter mass, while the other three hit high-end hotels.
The churches are located in the cities of Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa, while all three hotels are in the capital city of Colombo.
Sunday afternoon, two additional explosions happened.
One occurred at a hotel in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia and the other was a house in Mahawila Gardens, Dematagoda.
Since no one knows if more blasts are coming, a curfew has been put into place.
It starts at 6 p.m. (8:30 a.m. EDT) and will lift Monday morning. Social media will also be banned for 12 hours.
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The country’s economic reforms minister, Harsha de Silva has been posting updates on Twitter.
There are still a lot of rumors.
De Silva specifically addressed the rumor that the Town Hall had been hit, saying that it isn’t true and asking people to be more responsible about what they share on social media.
Suicide bombings are most likely.
Sri Lankan police believe that the bombings weren’t set-up in advance, but rather enacted by suicide bombers.
Casualties keep climbing.
As of this writing, the death toll has reached more than 160 people, with at least 9 being foreign visitors. Hundreds of injuries are reported.
Trump tweets support.
In a tweet, Trump offered condolences to the people of Sri Lanka and indicated that the U.S. is ready to help.
h/t: BBC
