Angry residents of Tepalcingo, Morelos, vandalized municipal police headquarters and set fire to two vehicles last night after police stepped in to prevent the lynching of suspected kidnappers.

Rumors began circulating about 8:00pm that four men who had allegedly attempted to kidnap a teenage boy were seen circulating in a sport utility vehicle in the eastern Morelos town.

After residents gathered in the town’s main square, summoned by the ringing of the church bells, they located the four men, later identified as an architect and three construction workers, and tried to apprehend them.

But municipal police intervened and took them to their headquarters for protection.

Undeterred, the mob broke into the building and vandalized the premises, but police left with the four men and moved them to another location.

The mob carried on anyway, torching police headquarters, including the armory, setting off explosions, before setting fire to a police vehicle and the vehicle in which the alleged kidnappers had been traveling.

No arrests were reported.

Source: Milenio (sp)