Jul 9, 2021 - World

Honduras police arrest 5 suspects linked to lynching of Italian man

Oriana González

Picture of Honduran police in a burned house — Firemen investigate the causes of the arson in the house of Italian citizen Giorgio Scanu in the municipality of Santa Ana de Yusguare in Choluteca, Honduras. Photo: ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP via Getty Images

Honduran police arrested five suspects in connection to the recent lynching of an Italian man by a mob of over 600 people for allegedly murdering a homeless man.

Driving the news: The people were arrested on suspicions of participating in the killing of 65-year-old Giorgio Scanu and burning portions of Scanu's residence and a car.

The suspects were between ages 19 and 55.
Rebeca Martinez, a spokesperson for the security ministry, noted that the police were looking for more suspects, adding the police were present when the lynching took place, but the mob was too large to be stopped, per Reuters.

Scanu was attacked last Thursday by approximately 600 people using stones, sticks and machetes because he allegedly beat a homeless man to death for damaging his garden, Reuters reports.

The suspects allegedly broke into Scanu's home "with the purpose of taking his life," per the Honduran police.

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Honduras police arrest 5 suspects linked to lynching of Italian man

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