MEXICO CITY — On Tuesday, the Roman Catholic Church verified that one of two minors fatally shot outside a church in Mexico’s Gulf coast region was indeed an altar boy.
The Catholic Multimedia Center reported that the other boy was assisting his mother with the church’s cleaning tasks in the state of Veracruz.

The tragic incident occurred late Saturday when gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on the two boys in the village of Entabladero before fleeing the scene.
State prosecutors have confirmed the murders and are currently investigating potential motives behind this violence.
These killings are part of a troubling pattern of attacks against the church in Mexico.

In a related incident, a priest and Indigenous peace activist was murdered in the southern state of Chiapas on October 20, marking the tenth priest to be killed in the country over the past five years.
Furthermore, in 2023, another priest lost his life in the western state of Michoacán, reflecting an alarming trend surrounding violence against clergy members.

The situation underscores growing concerns about security and the challenges faced by the religious community in Mexico amid rising crime rates targeting individuals and institutions associated with the church.