Texas Governor Greg Abbott has instructed law enforcement to boost security at religious sites across the state in response to recent attacks, the governor's office announced Tuesday.

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is collaborating with other agencies to enhance safety at churches, synagogues, and faith-based organizations statewide. "Places of worship are sacred," Abbott said in a statement. "We will marshal all resources necessary to safeguard our places of faith. To accomplish that objective, I directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to bolster security efforts to protect places of worship."

DPS, in collaboration with local and federal law enforcement, will deploy Highway Patrol troopers, Criminal Investigations Division agents, Texas Rangers and the Homeland Security Division to identify threats and prevent attacks.

Abbott's directive comes following the third deadly attack on a place of worship this year in the United States. This past Sunday, an attack on a Mormon church in Michigan killed four and wounded eight others when a 40-year-old veteran set the chapel on fire and began shooting.

On Aug. 27, two children were killed and 19 others injured during Mass at the Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis and two women were killed and two others injured on July 13 on the grounds of a church in Lexington, Kentucky.