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Residents threaten to burn house after group of known vandals attempt to hide

Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Q.R. — A mob of angry residents threatened to set fire to a house where a group of vandals were hiding. It took the intervention of the National Guard to calm the group.

The incident was reported in the Mayan community of Tepich. Area residents say they are tired of the crime and lack of police support to stop it. Taking matters into their own hands, they closed the main roadway to flush out the group of known troublemakers.

The group of youths then fled inside a house, which is when residents threatened to set it on fire in an attempt to deal with the criminals themselves. Neighbors told elements of the National Guard that the group, who call themselves the Sur 13 gang, are known criminals in the area.

On the night of the incident, they are said to have shot up the outside of one business, looted another and threw rocks at a taxi, causing damage to that as well. When police failed to respond, the group were chased by locals and the National Guard called in to intervein.

Police did eventually arrive to arrest those responsible.