Three men accused of kidnapping and stealing a young girl were lynched by a mob in central Mexico on Saturday, local authorities said.
Lynchings have increased in Mexico in recent years, with experts saying a sense of impunity is leading communities to take the law into their own hands.
The three men were killed Saturday afternoon in San Juan Amecac, 68 km southeast of the capital Mexico City, according to a statement from the local government.
“Three men died after being arrested and lynched by locals for allegedly robbing and kidnapping a minor,” he added.
Police rushed to the scene, but the men “no longer showed vital signs” when they arrived, the statement added.
Some 300 people took part in the lynching, hanging and beating the men until they died, according to local media.
The rise of vigilantism is part of a broader increase in violence in Mexico since 2006, fueled by drug trafficking.
In June, four men were lynched and then burned in the nearby town of Atlixco by a mob who accused them of stealing a vehicle.
In March, residents of the southern city of Taxco lynched a woman they were accused of murdering an eight-year-old girl. Two men also believed to be involved by locals were attacked but survived, the BBC reported.
Fernando Llano / AP
In 2022, a mob in Mexico attacked a young political advisor, then set him on fire on accusations of child trafficking shared on discussion groups.
In 2018, two men were burned alive in Puebla after rumors spread on WhatsApp that they were child kidnappers, BBC News reported. The rumors turned out to be false.
