MEXICO CITY, May 13 (UPI) — Two Mexico City bartenders were in custody Monday in the beating death of Malcolm Shabazz, grandson of civil rights activist Malcolm X, prosecutors said.
Prosecutor Rodolfo Fernando Rios Garza said the men are employed at The Palace Club where Shabazz, 29, and three friends were drinking early Thursday. A dispute arose over a $1,200 bill and Shabazz was beaten.
Shabazz was transported to a hospital, where he died of his injuries later that day, police spokesman. The Mexico City attorney general’s office said Shabazz suffered brain trauma and several broken bones.
CNN reported former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., said she was saddened, stunned, shocked, to learn of his death.
“Many of my closest associates have personal memories of their time with him and of his efforts to reach out to them for help,” McKinney said. “He was writing a book.”
Shabazz was the son of Qubilah Shabazz, one of Malcolm X’s six daughters. He served time in a juvenile facility when he started a fire at age 12 that killed his grandmother, Betty Shabazz, Malcolm X’s widow, the BBC reported last week.
He was in and out of prison in later years for other crimes.
Since his release from prison, Shabazz said he had been speaking to people around the world “about the struggles that confront this generation.”
Copyright 2013 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).
