A rowdy neighbor met his fate at the hands of enraged fellow neighbors in the Iztapalapa borough of Mexico City yesterday, where he was beaten to death in retaliation for firing a weapon into the air.

According to a police report, nearly 20 friends and neighbors were at a party in the early hours of Sunday morning when they heard shots fired from inside the same apartment building. Three of the party-goers discovered a neighbor firing a 9-millimeter firearm into the air from inside the building and attempted to dissuade him from continuing.

But the man, who appeared to be drunk, resumed firing a short time later. Now angry, the three men once again confronted their neighbor. The second attempt at dialogue quickly escalated to blows, unleashing the rage of other party-goers who joined in the fray, beating the man and causing traumatic brain injury.

Paramedics were unable to reach the victim because of the brawl that had broken out between the party attendees and the victim’s family. Four police patrols also responded to the incident but were blocked by other residents.

Neighbors described the deceased as a well-known drug dealer in the neighborhood and said he had been released from prison just two months before. They also claimed that the victim’s family has sworn vengeance for his death. In response, police strengthened their presence in the surrounding area.

The Mexico City Attorney General’s Office said that since the homicide occurred within the apartment complex, none of the building’s external cameras captured the crime on video. The identity of the victim’s attackers remains unknown and no arrests have been made.

Source: El Universal (sp)