Guatemalan prosecutor Selvin Mendez Rios was serious wounded in an attack in the western province of Quetzaltenango and is in “critical condition” in a hospital, officials said on Wednesday.

A spokesman for the National Civil Police told reporters that the 42-year-old Mendez Rios, the chief prosecutor in the southwestern province of Retalhuleu, was fired upon on Tuesday night when he was traveling from the city of Quetzaltenango to his office.

“He has several wounds. The most serious is a (bullet) wound in his face,” the sources said.

Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz, in remarks to local media, condemned the attack on Mendez Rios and urged prosecutors not to let themselves be intimidated by the threats and attacks of organized crime.

The security forces are trying to determine the perpetrators and the motive for the attack on Mendez Rios, who was investigating several important cases in his jurisdiction.

Judicial officials in Guatemala, most of who lack any type of personal protection, are constantly the victims of threats and attacks by organized criminal groups.