Residents of a village in the state of Veracruz of Mexico attempted to lynch police officers they accused of murdering a young man, overturned and set fire to patrol cars and also set fire to part of the local government headquarters, authorities said Saturday.
The events unfolded on Friday night and Saturday morning in the community of Lerdo de Tejada, in the southern part of Veracruz, where residents protested after the police shooting death of 27-year-old Brando Arejano Cruz.
Concentrated they attacked police officers and riots broke outan AFP correspondent found.
Delfino Arejano, the victim's father, told media that police officers shot his son in the back and hit him in the neck while he was behind the wheel of his car, even though he had already stopped the vehicle when he realized he was being followed.
Authorities have not clarified why the police stopped the car.
“They treat us like criminals”complained Mr. Arejano, emphasizing that the police tried to intimidate and prevent him and his wife from approaching to render aid to their son, who was already dead.
Enraged residents set fire to a part of the building that is the seat of the self-government, to two patrol cars and to a vehicle of the municipality, explained the mayor Maria Ester Aronis.
The Secretariat of Security of the state of Veracruz confirmed the attempt to lynch police officers and announced the arrest of four of them, who are accused of “homicide”, after the incidents in Lerdos de Tejada. “There will be no impunity,” he assured.
Lynchings and attempted executions by residents are common in Mexico. Criminologists attribute the phenomenon to the feeling of impunity.
About 62% of Mexicans believe that anyone who breaks the law will never be brought before a judge, while 47% believe that impunity will increase in 2023, according to a survey by the non-governmental organization Impunidad Cero (“Zero Impunity”) and the polling institute Data OMP released in June.
Source: News Beast
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