MONTE ALTO, Texas — An American missionary couple who were attacked by gunmen in Mexico drove up to an illegal roadblock in a dangerous area of the country that has had 40 violent car thefts in the past two months, a Mexican official said Thursday.
The gunmen opened fire after the driver, Sam Davis, decided not to stop, said an official in Mexico’s Tamaulipas state attorney general’s office who would not be identified because he is not authorized to discuss the case.
Davis’ wife, Nancy, was shot in the head by a bullet that shattered the rear window of their 2008 Chevrolet pickup truck, Pharr Police Chief Ruben Villescas said Thursday.
Sam Davis told U.S. investigators that he drove as fast as he could to the border, about 70 miles away, with his wife bleeding in the seat next to him. Faced with a long line of traffic waiting to enter the U.S., he drove in the opposite lane across the Pharr International Bridge to the border checkpoint.
Nancy Davis, 59, was rushed to a hospital in McAllen, where she was later pronounced dead.
Authorities say the couple’s heavy-duty truck is the kind prized by criminal organizations in Mexico and similar to ones Pharr police say they can often single out as stolen before the vehicles are driven across the border.
“Driving that type of truck is an eye-catcher,” said Pharr police Sgt. Ray Lara, who routinely patrols bridge traffic. “We figure maybe they don’t bother the church people. But they want those trucks.”
The couple’s son, Joseph Davis, told The Associated Press on Thursday that his parents knew the risk of working in certain parts of Mexico but that they were devoted to their missionary work. He said his parents had been chased by gunmen before.
He said his parents began their missionary work in Mexico in the 1970s.
