A teacher in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, was nearly lynched by parents who accused him of sexually abusing two of his female students.
Early yesterday afternoon, an upset mother confronted the teacher after her daughter claimed he had molested her last year. The minor had been afraid to say anything but when the teacher attempted to do it again she told her parents.
Other parents overheard the confrontation, triggering second accusation against the fourth-grade teacher.
That sparked an all-out assault: dozens of mothers physically attacked the teacher as others gathered on the school premises.
Police were called and they freed the teacher from the angry parents, locking him in a classroom as a preventative measure.
Representatives of the SNTE teachers’ union mediated an agreement with parents to allow the authorities to transport the teacher to police headquarters.
But when he was escorted outside he was struck by a barrage of bottles, pipes and even firecrackers.
Police fired weapons into the air and sprayed pepper gas to persuade the crowd to disperse, allowing the suspect to be removed from the school.
Two men were injured by gunshots during the fray. One, an elderly man who was an innocent bystander, was struck by a stray bullet in the head. The second victim was the father of one of the allegedly molested children.
The crowd, still angry, began threatening reporters that had gathered and chased them away.
Not done yet, they proceeded to set fire to all the teachers’ cars in the school parking lot.
Four people have died in lynchings in the last 10 days in Puebla and Hidalgo.
Source: e-consulta (sp), La Silla Rota (sp)
