Two Arrested in Connection to Death of Malcolm Shabazz

Finally some answers.

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Complex Original

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Two men have been arrested in connection to the death of Malcolm X's grandson, Malcolm Shabazz. Shabazz, 28, was beaten to death in Mexico City last week during a dispute over a bar tab. The New York Times reports that Alejandro Pérez de Jesús and David Hernández Cruz were waiters at the Palace Club where Shabazz and friend Miguel Suárez argued with staff over a $1,200 bill that was deemed "excessive."

It's believed that the tab was part of a plan to rob Shabazz and Suárez. Meanwhile authorities are searching for two other employees said to be involved with the beating.

Shabazz was in Mexico City to visit Suárez, a labor activist who had been deported from the United States. They were reportedly lured to the bar by two women who approached them on the street. Though some Mexican newspapers have reported that the bar is a brothel, prosecutor Rodolfo Fernando Rios Garza has dismissed those claims. 

The argument began around 3 a.m. last Thursday and Suárez was taken to another part of the bar and robbed while Shabazz was beaten. It's unknown why Suárez wasn't beaten, but he managed to escape his captors and call for help. Also, security cameras in the bar were conveniently turned towards walls and video recording equipment went suspiciously missing. 

Suárez says Shabazz traveled to Mexico City to attract media attention to his deportation. His body remains at a city morgue where it will stay until officials can arrange its shipment back to the U.S.

[via New York Times]

RELATED: Malcolm X's Grandson Was Allegedly Beaten to Death Over a $1,200 Tab 
RELATED: A Guide to Malcolm X's Harlem 
RELATED: Then & Now: 50 Key Sites in the American Civil Rights Movement 

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