The president of a Mexico City mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was hospitalized Saturday after being shot during an early-morning robbery attempt at his home.
R. Tyler Wallis was shot once by an intruder at about 2 a.m., church spokesperson Sam Penrod said in a news release. “He is in stable condition, responding well to treatment and under observation.”
Wallis’ wife, Elizabeth Thorstenson Wallis, was not injured.
The church’s Mexico Area Presidency has stepped in to oversee the missionaries.
“The church is cooperating with local authorities as they investigate,” Penrod said. “... Our prayers are with President and Sister Wallis, their family members and the missionaries during this challenging time.”
The Wallises began their leadership of the faith’s Mexico City West Mission last month. They hail from Orlando, Florida.
Tyler Wallis, who was born in Cincinnati, previously served as a lay bishop and in a stake (regional) presidency, according to a Church News story in February. As a young man, he fulfilled a mission in Arcadia, California.
His wife, Elizabeth, is a Provo native who previously was a Young Women and Relief Society president in her ward, or congregation.
in 2021, two gunmen invaded a routine gathering of 70 Latter-day Saint missionaries at a church meetinghouse in Torreón, Mexico, roughing up and robbing some of them and their leaders.