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Malcolm Shabazz Beaten to Death With Bat or Stick

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MEXICO CITY — The men who beat Malcolm Shabazz to death not only punched and kicked him, but also used a bat or stick during the attack, Mexico City’s top prosecutor said Tuesday.

Prosecutor Rodolfo Rios said the two waiters arrested in the case had served the grandson of civil rights activist Malcolm X and a friend at the Palace bar near Plaza Garibaldi.

Shabazz’s friend, Miguel Suarez, told investigators that the two had consumed about a dozen beers and then the waiters demanded they pay a tab of 15,000 pesos, or about $1,200, Rios said.

Rios said the attackers realized the severity of the beating when an ambulance arrived. He said the employees ripped out all security cameras inside the bar and immediately closed it.

An autopsy found that Shabazz died of blows to the head, face and torso.

The bar’s owner has yet to talk to authorities and Rios said he is considering issuing an arrest warrant. The owner could be charged with covering up a crime, he added.

Suarez said that he and Shabazz were lured to the bar Wednesday night by a young woman who made conversation with Shabazz in English. The Palace bar is on one of Mexico City’s busiest avenues.

Shabazz died at a hospital early Thursday.

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