Last Updated Nov 21st, 2019 at 3:06 pm

A Christian evangelist has been killed in southeast Turkey, according to International Christian Concern.

Jinwook Kim, who has served as a minister in Turkey for five years, was stabbed three times over authorities are saying was an attempt to steal his cellphone. Others believe the attack was religiously motivated.

Kim was married with one child and another on the way.

A 16-year-old has been arrested in relation to the murder and an investigation is now ongoing. While a Christian has not been murdered in Turkey since 2007, Christians have reported an increase in religious harassment over the last several years:

"This wasn't just a robbery; they came to kill him," said a Turkish evangelist, who received a death threat the day after this incident. "We always get threats. A brother prophesied a few days ago that they (the government) are going to kick out these foreigners, and probably kill a few Turkish brothers. They are going to cause chaos. They know that I am trying to spread the Gospel, so they may target me too. This may be a sign."

ICC's Regional Manager for the Middle East, Claire Evans, provided the following statement: