A pastor and his wife were shot and killed by two gunmen outside their home in the Mexican city of Irapuato in the early hours of Thursday, shortly after he had officiated at a funeral.

Pastor Ángel González of Calvary Chapel Irapuato died at the scene, according to Calvary Chapel Magazine. His wife, Irán Montes, was wounded in the same attack and died in an ambulance before reaching a hospital. The couple leaves behind two children, Matthew, 18, and Dorothy, 17.

The attack happened around 1 a.m. in the Villas El Dorado neighborhood, as the couple sat in their vehicle near the garage, local media reported. A man reportedly got out of another car and fired from about a meter away — first at González, then at Montes. Local outlets said the couple was returning from a wake.

Municipal police detained a man as a suspected perpetrator, whose name has not been released. Authorities have not announced a motive, and relatives and friends are awaiting official findings. According to the reporting available so far, the attack may have begun as a robbery that turned deadly — though that remains unverified at this time.

González led Calvary Chapel Irapuato, a congregation in Guanajuato state that belongs to a network of evangelical churches founded in California. The congregation is heartbroken, and Calvary Chapel families elsewhere in Mexico are in mourning, the magazine said, asking for prayers for the couple's children and the church and quoting a verse from 2 Timothy.

The killing took place in a region where organized crime remains a grave threat. Guanajuato is among the states where drug cartels operate, even as recorded homicides have fallen nationally. The ministry Open Doors ranks Mexico 30th on its World Watch List of countries where Christians face the worst persecution, noting that criminal organizations endanger Christians under their influence — especially church leaders whose peace work the gangs see as a threat.

Though Mexico's constitution protects religious freedom, believers there have faced growing opposition in public life. Christians in Mexico need the prayers of believers everywhere — particularly the family and the church family left behind in Irapuato.