The Catholic Church expressed its sentence for the armed attack that charged at least two lives and left 19 injured on Sunday night August 17 at the City of San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, during the celebration of Patron Festivities by the Virgin of San Juan de los Lagos in the atrium of a Catholic Church.
In a communication Disseminated on August 18, Fr. José de Jesús Palacios Torres, spokesman for the Diocese of Celaya, Guanajuato, in which San Miguel de Allende is located, said that “with deep pain, we have received the news of the violent attack that occurred in the community of Infonavit Malanquín, belonging to the parish of San Antonio de Padu more were injured. ”
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“The diocese expresses its total rejection of violence, because every act that threatens life and peace destroys coexistence and becomes deeply hurting the heart of our society,” he said.
The Ministry of Citizen Security (SSC) of the municipality of San Miguel de Allende confirmed On August 18, the death of two people because of the armed attack that occurred during “On Sunday night in (the colony) Infonavit Malanquín”, near the city center.
According to the Mexican newspaper Millenniumthe attack began shortly before midnight, when a man armed with a rifle shot at the participants of the employer celebration, among whom were families with children who participated in the games of the fair that had been installed in the area. The aggressor would have managed to flee in the midst of chaos generated by the shots.
That morning, in the church of the colony, dedicated to Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos, the Holy Mass had been held. On the Facebook page From the local Catholic community you can find videos of the employer celebrations, including the pyrotechnics used during the night, hours before the attack.
In one press conference Subsequent, the mayor of San Miguel Allende, Mauricio Trejo Pureco, informed that the attack of the night of August 17 was aimed “directly to three people”, who “have serious history” such as “rape, narcomenudeo, etc.”.
“Unfortunately, when they go for these people, for these criminals, cowardly, those who went to commit that attack, shoot hurting (…) to 19 people, 16 of them good people, people who were in their religious celebrations.”
“Do not give in to fear or hopelessness”
Fr. Palacios Torres said in his statement that “as a church, we manifest our closeness and prayer for the relatives of those who died, and we ask the Lord to grant strength and hope in the midst of this pain.”
“We make a firm call to the corresponding authorities so that these facts are thoroughly investigated and do not remain in impunity, because justice and truth are indispensable paths for the construction of social peace,” he said, encouraging the settlers “not to give in to fear or hopelessness, but to work together for peace, justice and respect for life.”
“We trust that Christ’s love will always be stronger than hate and violence.”
At the end, the spokesman of the Diocese of Celaya said that “we entrust to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, mother of peace, the victims, their families and the entire community of San Miguel de Allende.”
David Ramos
Graduate in Communication Sciences by the Private University of the North in Trujillo, Peru. With more than 12 years of experience in Catholic journalism working in ACI Press, I am based in Mexico since 2018. I have covered the trips of Pope Francis to Ecuador, Paraguay, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Panama.