This past Tuesday evening, at about 5:30 pm, the pastor was walking his two schnauzer puppies in the same neighborhood he walked them through regularly. Security Minister Oscar Alvarez reported that, “Witnesses said they saw the pastor with his dogs and then a car stopped, and someone shouted, ‘Give me the dogs,’ and the pastor replied ‘no’.”

Witnesses said the person got out of the car and tried to grab the puppies from the Pastor, and when that failed, the shooter took aim and shot Marroquín straight in the head. Pastor Marroquín died instantly on the sidewalk, receiving two bullets to his skull. The gunman was forced to take off without the animals and without the Pastor’s belongings, including a black wallet that was inside his clothes at the time the police arrived.

Pastor Carlos Roberto Marroquín Ortega, 41, was married to Reverend Giovanna Reyes and had two daughters, 6 and 15 years old. He was a Pentecostal Pastor and lawyer, a founding member of the Latin American Network of Christian Lawyers, and served as president of the Association of Evangelical Pastors of Honduras from 2008 to 2009. He became devout at only 11 years of age, and began preaching in the neighborhoods of San Pedro Sula.

“From his youth, Roberto Marroquín was a very dear person by his nature, and shared the Word because he enjoyed it. He planted the seed that is alive within us,” said Rolando López, co-pastor of the church where Marroquín preached.

Pastor Lopez knew Marroquín since childhood, “We grew up together playing ball in the streets, we were neighbors when we were kids.” The Pastor recalled that 14 years ago Marroquín started the project of building a church in San Pedro Sula. “We started with two families – a dozen people on the porch of a house of one of the brothers.” Marroquín had planned to open two more churches in San Pedro Sula.

Elis Ríos, an assistant to Pastor Marroquín, said he “was a shepherd who saw everything from a positive viewpoint and always believed that we “can do everything that we propose.”

Pastor Marroquín was known locally and internationally for his strong interest in finding solutions to the problems of the country, especially those related to youth and family. His religious leadership led him to become a speaker in several countries including the United States and Turkey. He also directed the Christian program “Preaching the Gospel of the King,” which aired on Channel 30 and TVH.

Misael Argeñal, a Pastor of Harvest Ministry with many years’ experience in San Pedro Sula, said to reporters that, “Marroquín was an admirable leader with good relationships. He left an important mark in Honduras and we will miss him very much.”

According to Argeñal, “This was not a dog theft. There are already six pastors who have died in Honduras in recent months. There must be a project, an escalation … they must investigate to find out who is behind everything.”

Apparently there are other religious leaders who agree with that theory. Roy Santos, Pastor of the “Ministerios Manantial de La Mies” yesterday told reporters that the pastor’s “death has not arisen from the theft of dogs. There must be something else.”

“This is something else, more than an assault. He was a man who caused an impact…” “Maybe someone does not like what we’re doing,” he said.

No arrests have yet been made.