A church community in Houston is mourning the loss of their pastor following an attempted burglary of the pastor’s home. Pedro Cantu of Iglesia Cristiana Amor y Restauracion (ICAR) died after being accidentally shot by a roommate during the home invasion.
Cantu was 62 years old. He was a husband and father of three. He moved from Mexico to the U.S. in 1990 before founding ICAR a year later.
The incident took place at Cantu’s home just after midnight on Saturday (Feb. 21). According to the Houston Police Department, Cantu had called 911 to report that he and his family had heard glass breaking and that someone had entered the home.
RELATED: Police Searching for Shooter After Victim Killed During Seattle Church Event
When officers arrived, they heard at least one gunshot coming from inside the home. After the officers entered the home, they detained a man with a gun. They transported two men with gunshot wounds to the hospital.
One of the wounded was Cantu, who later died. The other was Rodney Dushaw Yoder, 44, who had broken into the home.
Yoder has been charged with burglary of a habitation.
Yoder said that he heard a gunshot when he entered the home and that he saw Cantu on the ground. He reportedly grabbed Cantu’s wife, thinking that he would not be shot. However, he was shot and fled before apprehended. His injuries are not life-threatening.
The gunman was a 35-year-old relative of Cantu, who had been living at Cantu’s home. He reportedly shot Cantu by accident in an attempt to protect Cantu’s family from Yoder.
No charges against the relative who fired the gun have been announced.
RELATED: ‘The Church Is My Life’—71-Year-Old Pastor Shot in Mouth Returns to Pulpit on Easter
In a tribute to Cantu, ICAR said, “Pedro was a faithful servant, a man of faith and a shepherd after God’s heart…His legacy will live on in every soul he pastored and every life he sowed with love.”
