Mob kills church thief near Mexico City

A violent mob lashed a thief to a staircase and beat him to death after he tried to make off with sacred images from a church in southern Mexico City, authorities said yesterday.

Officials in the Secretariat of Public Security said as many as 200 people were present when the lynching took place late Wednesday night, but none had been arrested or charged.

"We can't detain so many people," said spokeswoman Myrna Garcia. "And nobody so far has singled out which ones were actually responsible for the killing." Police are investigating. Mexico City newspapers ran photographs yesterday of the dead burglar slumped over a white metal staircase as dozens of onlookers stood by.

Mob violence is not uncommon in Mexico's rural pueblos, but the lynching in Tlalpan, a borough on the capital's southern edge, was the first known case in the metropolis of 18 million.

Officials say they still have not identified the robber, believed to be about 30 years old, nor two men with him who witnesses say escaped.

The three were allegedly trying to steal statues and paintings of Mary Magdalene from a parish church in the lower middle-class neighbourhood named after her when they were surprised by members of the community.

After capturing the alleged thief, angry residents of Santa Maria Magdalena dragged him to a local kiosk, where he was tied up and cudgeled to death.

Police were blocked from stopping the beatings by other residents of the community, according to local reports.

Thefts of religious artefacts, which are often thought to have mystical powers, is a growing problem in smaller churches.