A 10-year-old boy stabbed his father to death in Tabasco on Sunday after he refused to stop beating the boy’s mother.

The boy’s 30-year-old father, identified only by his first name, Higinio, was visiting at the home of his ex-wife and his son in Puerto Ceiba, Paraíso, when he began arguing with the former.

The disagreement escalated and the man became violent. The couple’s son, Alan, witnessed the incident and pleaded with his father to stop.

The boy’s pleas went unheard. So he grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed his father with it, puncturing a lung.

Neighbors and family transported the man to a nearby hospital but he died as he was being rushed to the operating room.

Under Mexican law Alan cannot be arrested or put on trial because he is a minor.

Tabasco deputy attorney general Aureola Rodríguez Cupil explained that there is no crime to prosecute, and that the boy is instead a victim of a violent home and should receive psychological counseling.

The Network for Children’s Rights in Mexico (Redim), advised that the boy, as a victim, should be offered all available public programs to avoid psychological repercussions.

Redim director Juan Martín Pérez García also warned that Alan is being re-victimized by several news outlets that have revealed his full name and address, with some going as far as publishing pictures of his home, in clear violation of the law and his rights.

Source: Excélsior (sp), Tabasco Hoy (sp)