After the murder of a boy who was 11 years old, an angry mob set fire to their bodies and burned the three kidnappers to death.
Locals in Guatemala took three suspects out of a police station and set fire to them after they were accused of kidnapping and murdering an 11-year-old boy named Freddy Méndez.
#EUNacionales Una turba enardecida de #Colotenango #Huehuetenango tomó la justicia a mano propia y lincharon a tres delincuentes señalados de secuestrar y desaparecer al niño Freddy Eliseo Méndez Pablo de 11 años el 12 de agosto, exigiendo a la familia Q150 mil por la liberación. pic.twitter.com/uidPq79iHh
— euquiche (@EU_Quiche) August 23, 2022
In the municipality of Colotenango, the deaths of Selvin Pérez, 24, Samuel Godnez, 38, and Ovidio Méndez, 24, took place in the community of Xémal.
The suspects had demanded $1,900 (£1,600) from Freddy Méndez’s family after kidnapping the 11-year-old boy on August 12, according to the Guatemala National Police, as reported by The Sun.
The abductors sent the child’s relatives a photo that showed one of them standing next to Freddy while holding a shotgun. This was done in order to demonstrate that Freddy is still alive. In spite of the fact that the family paid the ransom, the child was never freed.
On Monday, all three of the suspects were apprehended and brought to the police station in the neighborhood. An irate crowd made their way to the police station, where they succeeded in capturing one of the culprits and dragging him to Xémal.
The suspect is said to have made it official that young Freddy was blasted in the head and buried in a pit. When the angry residents discovered him, they burned him alive. After that, the enraged crowd went back to the police station and managed to apprehend the other two suspected kidnappers, who were subsequently burned alive.
Their justification for the act is that there’s no punishment the law or the court can mete out that will ever be enough. They felt the act was necessary and that is the only way justice can be served.
Though on paper such swift actions may seem right or even commendable, however, jungle justice is never the way. The death of these horrible criminals did not bring little Freddy back. Yet, they did what they thought was right. In the end, questions have to be asked of the policemen on duty. How could they let the criminals to be taken away by the people?
What are your thoughts on what happened? Do you think the mob action was justified? Would you have done the same if you were in the same position?
This story syndicated with permission from For the Love of News