Father Marcelo Perez, 51, was shot dead by two gunmen just after he had finished celebrating Mass, officials said.

In Mexico, the Catholic priest and Indigenous activist Marcelo Pérez was killed by two gunmen Sunday as he left Mass in the southern state of Chiapas. Pérez was a member of the Tzotzil Indigenous group,

Mexican authorities have arrested the alleged murderer of a Catholic priest and prominent human rights defender whose killing triggered international condemnation, officials announced Tuesday.

Gunmen in Mexico have shot dead a Catholic priest who was an outspoken advocate for indigenous rights and who had condemned the violence plaguing his community. Father Marcelo Pérez was killed after celebrating Mass in the southern state of Chiapas on Sunday, the prosecutor's office said.

Sr. María called the priest’s murder a sign that there are people trying to create division in the communities. Chiapas: a region marked by trafficking and poverty Forced migration has led to a rise in the culture of violence in Mexico, particularly in the state of Chiapas—where Fr. Marcelo was from.

Hundreds of people have turned out to mourn Catholic priest Marcelo Pérez, an activist for Indigenous peoples and farm laborers who was killed in the southern Mexico state of Chiapas.

By Eduardo Berdejo Fr Marcelo Pérez of the Mexican Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas was murdered on Saturday, Oct. 19, by unknown assailants. The priest was shot dead after he had finished celebrating Mass and was on his way in his car to continue his pastoral duties.

Mexican police have arrested a man accused of murdering a Roman Catholic priest and human rights campaigner in the southern state of Chiapas. Father Marcelo Pérez was killed on Sunday after celebrating Mass at his church in the city of San Cristóbal de las Casas.