MATAMOROS, Tamaulipas — A second attack using a homemade incendiary device occurred during a popular church’s mass less than a week after a similar incident at this city’s cathedral.

The attack took place at the San Antonio de Padua Church in Matamoros when an unknown man dressed in black threw a bottle filled with corrosive chemicals, the Tamaulipas government revealed.

While the device did not cause any injuries or damage to the building, it did cause panic among churchgoers who rushed out of the sanctuary until emergency personnel secured the area and retrieved the device. The Tamaulipas government issued a statement claiming that the device did not explode, however, the Bishop of Matamoros confirmed the attack was the second in his diocese.

In a statement released by Matamoros Diocese, Bishop Eugenio Lira Rugarcia stated that the second incident was a cause for major concern.

“What appeared to have been an isolated incident has taken a new turn causing us grave concern since our parishioners and the citizenry, in general, has a right to a safe environment at their home and their place of gathering,” Lira Rugarcia said in a prepared statement.



The attack at the church comes less than three days after a Molotov cocktail attack at the cathedral in Matamoros. As Breitbart Texas reported, the homemade incendiary device caused an explosion and damaged several pews but did not cause any injuries.

Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by “J.A. Espinoza” from Tamaulipas.