MEXICO CITY (AP) — Two priests were shot dead and four people were wounded when their vehicle was attacked early Monday in the southern state of Guerrero, authorities reported.
Guerrero security spokesman Roberto Alvarez said in a statement that authorities received a report in the pre-dawn hours of a white pickup with bullet holes on a highway.
The statement said the truck was traveling from the town of Juliantla, which is near the colonial city of Taxco, when it was suddenly blocked by another vehicle and unknown attackers opened fire before fleeing.
It said “two priests’ lives were taken” in the attack. One of the wounded was said to be in serious condition, while the others’ lives were not in danger.
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The Archdiocese of Acapulco identified the two priests as Ivan Anorve Jaimes of La Sagrada Familia parish in the Guerrero town of Las Vigas and Germain Muniz Garcia of the parish in Mezcala.
The state has posted some of Mexico’s highest homicide rates in recent years and is a hotbed of drug trafficking and organized crime.