Mob spooked by rumours beats brothers to death

It was evening in Ajalpan when two young pollsters from Mexico’s capital ducked into a store to conduct a survey about tortilla consumption.

Someone didn’t like it, and they called the cops. “There are suspicious people on Guerrero Street. They’re asking a lot of questions,” the anonymous tipster reported, Police Chief Juan Manuel Gonzalez said.

An hour and a half later, brothers Jose and David Copado Molina lay dead, mistaken for criminals and beaten to death by a mob of townspeople frightened by both the gang violence plaguing much of Mexico and recent tales of alleged child abductions.