A Colombian evangelical pastor and his family were brutally killed by hitmen while they dined at a restaurant after attending a religious service.
The bloodbath took place in Aguachica, north of Bogota, on Sunday December 29 after two armed gunmen on a motorbike opened fire on Marlon Lora, his wife Yorlay Rincon and their two children Angela and Santiago and shot them multiple times before fleeing the scene.
Marlon, 43, Yorlay, 40, and Angela, 24, were killed instantly, while Santiago, 19, survived, but remains in hospital in critical condition.
The family had just left the Prince of Peace Church where Marlon and Yorlay were religious leaders.
Colombian newspaper El Tiempo reported that authorities do not rule out that the attacker was present at the religious service prior to the attack.
Their daughter Angela worked as a journalist and was a candidate for the municipal council for the Christian party Colombia Justa Libres in 2023.
Roqueme ruled out that the attack was related to Angela’s journalistic work.
Following the triple murder, the Mayor’s Office declared a curfew and condemned the ‘violent act, perpetrated at close range and during the day is a reflection of the lack of respect for life and human dignity.’
A Colombian evangelical pastor and his family were brutally killed by hitmen while they dined at a restaurant after attending mass
The bloodbath took place in Aguachica, north of Bogota, on Sunday December 29 after two armed gunmen on a motorbike opened fire on Marlon Lora, his wife Yorlay Rincon and their two children Angela and Santiago
Marlon, his wife Yorlay and daughter Angela died instantly. His son Santiago suffered severe injuries
Aguachica mayor Greisy Roqueme said in a video posted to social media: ‘We cannot allow violence to steal our hope, so I demand that the National Government, the Minister of Defense and the Public Force turn their attention to the department of Cesar, but above all to the municipality of Aguachica’.
The departmental police commander Colonel Eduardo Chamorro said officers are investigating the brutal murder.
‘We are conducting interviews, collecting videos and other judicial evidence. So far, we have no evidence of direct threats,’ he said.
According to a medical report from the High Complexity Clinic of Aguachica where Santiago is being treated he is ‘under a reserved prognosis and subject to clinical evolution’.
Meanwhile the Evangelical Confederation of Colombia has expressed its condolences: ‘The Aguachica Pastors Association has seen the departure of a family that is an example of spiritual leadership in the region.’
The Lora family was described as a ‘pillar of the community’
The Lora family was described as a ‘pillar of the community’ by Roqueme.
A reward has been offered for information on those behind the massacre.
Pastor Marlon and his family’s murders are the latest in a string of violent attacks in Colombia.
On November 13 brothers Ever and Gerson García Vélez were murdered by three men on their farm in Valle del Cauca department.
Two days before, evangelical pastor Salvador Zapateiro Mercado was killed under in Cartagena while watching a football match at a local shop.