February 22, 2019 - 5:16 PM
VERACRUZ, Mexico - Angry residents and vigilantes killed six men they claimed tried to kidnap local teachers in Mexico's Gulf coast state of Veracruz.
The mob killings occurred in an area where fuel theft and freight train robberies are common. It is not clear whether the dead men were part of those gangs.
Four of the victims were detained by residents late Thursday in the village of Soledad Atzompa, near the border with Puebla state, after they allegedly tried to force teachers into a vehicle.
The villagers and some members of a local vigilante group took the men to the village square and beat, stoned and burned them to death. Residents also placed checkpoints on roads around the village.
Two other suspects ran into the hills to evade capture Thursday, but they were caught and killed early Friday.
The Veracruz state government said over 100 police officers and army troops were dispatched to the area to prevent further violence. It said it condemned the killings.
Residents in some of the most violent parts of Mexico have formed vigilante groups, but spontaneous mobs have also carried out such killings. Once confined to rural areas, such mob killings have become more common in larger cities, as well.
Teachers are sometimes targeted for extortion and kidnapping in impoverished parts of Mexico because they are some of the few people receiving regular paychecks, and are vulnerable because they have to travel rural roads to get to their jobs.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019