Rights Group Seeks Full Investigation After Mexican Pastor and Wife Shot Outside Home
Ángel González led Calvary Chapel Irapuato in Guanajuato, a state with some of Mexico's worst violence. One man has been detained, but no motive has been announced.
IRAPUATO, Mexico —
Christian Solidarity Worldwide is calling on Mexico's government to fully investigate the shooting deaths of Ángel González, pastor of Calvary Chapel Irapuato, and his wife, Irán Montes. The couple was shot outside their home in the Villas El Dorado neighborhood of Irapuato, in Guanajuato state, at about 1 a.m. on Oct. 15.
Diario de México reported that González, 51, and Montes, 49, were trying to pull into their garage when they were attacked. González died at the scene. Montes was badly wounded and died a short time later; Diario de México said she died at a hospital, while The Christian Post said she died in an ambulance on the way. Reports also differ on where the couple had been that night: Diario de México said a birthday party, and The Christian Post said a funeral the pastor had led.
Municipal police detained a 30-year-old man in the Las Rosas neighborhood and turned him over to the state attorney general's office, which is determining his legal status and whether he was involved, Diario de México reported. Authorities have not announced a motive. The Christian Post said early information pointed to a robbery that turned deadly, but CSW said its sources believe the couple was ambushed and that nothing was taken.
“This double murder in Irapuato highlights the context of violence faced by religious leaders in Mexico,” said Pablo Vargas, national director of Impulso18, CSW's partner group in Mexico. Anna Lee Stangl, CSW's director of advocacy, said in the group's Oct. 23 statement, “We call on the Mexican federal government to work actively with Guanajuato State security forces.”
The congregation confirmed the deaths in a statement. “We thank God for their lives, for the service they gave the Lord,” the church said, according to Diario de México's report in Spanish. The couple leaves two children, ages 17 and 18. Calvary Chapel Irapuato is part of the evangelical Calvary Chapel network, which began in California.
CSW says Guanajuato has recorded the most homicides of any Mexican state year after year, largely because of fighting between organized crime groups. Diario de México reported that at least 25 people were killed across the state in the three days around the shooting. Open Doors ranks Mexico 30th on its World Watch List of countries where Christians face the most persecution, according to The Christian Post.
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