Angry crowd in Brazil invades police station and burns child rapist alive
The man confessed to the police that he had kidnapped, raped and killed the child, throwing his body into the river.
In the municipality of Jutaí, Amazonas, the population invaded the 56th Police Station on the night of Thursday 19th, seeking justice for the rape and murder of a 1 year and 7 month old child, whose body was thrown into the river.
The man was dragged from the police unit and lynched in the street by the angry crowd.
The child had been missing since Wednesday 18th, and his family, along with friends and neighbors, intensified the search in the area where he was last seen.
Although they were unsuccessful on Wednesday, on Thursday the police arrested a man, a popsicle maker, who confessed to having kidnapped, raped and killed the child, throwing his body into the river.
That afternoon, the community surrounded the Police Station. Despite efforts by the civil and military police to disperse the crowd, as night fell the rapist was taken out and lynched.
Videos show how, as the man's body lay bloodied on the ground, some beat him with sticks before dousing him with gasoline and setting him on fire, all amid cries of outrage.
Although the police tried to protect the man, their numbers were insufficient in the face of the angry crowd that took justice into its own hands.
Details are still lacking about the kidnapping, rape and murder of the minor, but the Interior Police Directorate (DPI) is expected to provide more information in the coming hours.
The act of taking justice into one's own hands has generated intense debate.
Some see it as an act of desperation in the face of a system that seemingly fails in its mission to punish those who commit heinous crimes, while others argue that this form of lynching could trigger a cycle of violence and chaos.