Two men have been arrested in connection with the murder of Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of civil rights-era leader Malcolm X who died Thursday in Mexico City. The suspects, who work at a bar Shabazz visited, could face charges of homicide and robbery, the BBC reports.
As we reported Friday, Shabazz had traveled to Mexico to meet with Miguel Suarez, an organizer of RUMEC, a labor and construction group in California. Suarez had been deported to Mexico in April.
The trouble erupted after the two men allegedly went to a bar called The Palace Club, described by The Associated Press as being "in an area of rough dive bars tourists are warned against going to."
"We were dancing with the girls and drinking," Suarez told the AP. Eventually, the pair were asked to pay a tab of more than $1,000, he said.
"We pretty much got hassled," Suarez said. "A short dude came with a gun."
After Shabazz and Suarez refused to pay, they were separated. The next time he saw Shabazz, Suarez says, he had been badly beaten. Shabazz later died in a hospital.
In addition to the two men arrested late Sunday, authorities are seeking three other suspects, reports Agence France-Presse, citing the Mexican news site Reforma.
The Shabazz family released a statement Saturday, in which they thanked supporters for their help in coping with the loss of Malcolm Shabazz.
"Although his bright light and boundless potential are gone from this life, we are grateful that he now rests in peace in the arms of his grandparents and the safety of God," the statement read in part. "We will miss him."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.