Malcolm Shabazz, Malcolm X's Grandson, Was Murdered In Mexico

The U.S. Embassy confirmed yesterday that 28-year-old Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of Malcom X, was robbed and killed in Mexico City. Details surrounding the murder are still sketchy; the Shabazz family plans to fly to Mexico to claim his remains.

From Amsterdam News:

“I’m confirming, per U.S. Embassy, on behalf of family, the tragic death of Malcolm Shabazz, grandson of Malcolm X.Statement frm family 2 come,” wrote close friend of the Shabazz family Terrie M. Williams on twitter.

Family members have confirmed his death and that he was in Mexico but have not confirmed the exact location or circumstances of how Malcolm Shabazz died. Malcolm Shabazz is survived by two daughters, his mother and several aunts.

Shabazz—after a his youth as a juvenile delinquent—had become a rising activist and was reportedly in Mexico to talk with a leader of the California labor organization RUMEC (Revolutional United Mexicans in Combat).

“He [was] really just a youngster, a very young man who was just struggling to get his life moving on a forward-looking track,” says Imam Al-Hajj Talib Abdur-Rashid of the Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood in Harlem. “He was always concerned about forging his own path. I’m just sad that things turned out the way they did… He could have been a positive force.”

[UPDATE] via Newsday:

The 28-year-old Shabazz had gone with [labor activist Miguel] Suarez and several other people to a bar near the plaza that is home to Mexico City’s mariachis, Suarez said, after several young women who spoke English suggested they accompany them to the establishment. The bar is on one of Mexico City’s busiest avenues, but in a section of rough dive bars tourists are warned against visiting.

Suarez said he and Shabazz were dancing with the women and drinking when the bar owner demanded they pay a $1,200 tab for “music, drinks and the girls’ companionship,” and a fight ensued.

“We pretty much got hassled,” he said. “A short dude came with a gun.”

The two men were briefly separated, and Suarez said the armed man took him to a backroom. He later found Shabazz injured outside the bar and took him to a hospital where he died on Thursday, Suarez said.

‘Grandson of Malcolm X Killed in Mexico’ [Clutch Magazine]
‘Malcolm Shabazz’s family to claim remains in Mexico’ [USA Today]