A bad day in Monterrey

Today was a bad day for security in Monterrey - probably made worse for us because the violence was in our area and had a personal connection.

This afternoon there was a major shooting incident very close to our church. Details are still being reported but there are lots of pictures of squads of heavily armed police, helicopters and cars with bullet holes on the TV. The nearby campus of the University which is across the road from our church was locked down for a while and then students were advised to go straight home. I was on the bus going into class to teach for the night when people started talking about it. Most students didn't make it to class - which was completely understandable. Apart from anything else, the traffic was shocking.

But also, it appears that one of the young men from a family at our church was kidnapped on Sunday afternoon (after being in church on Sunday morning) and was found dead this afternoon. I have no idea of the circumstances - but it is of course a terrible thing for the family and our wider church family.

We had hoped that things had quietened down a bit - there hadn't been much violence in September, but it seems things are getting bad again. There were 3 grenade attacks in public places over the weekend, and now this.

As usual - we don't feel threatened and are taking advice for the local people who we know and trust, but overall it wasn't a happy day in our city today.