A woman chants the Spanish word for "justice" during a demonstration protesting the kidnapping and killing of an 8-year-old girl, in the main square of Taxco, Mexico, Thursday, March 28, 2024. Hours earlier a mob beat a woman to death because she was suspected of kidnapping and killing the young girl. Fernando Llano / AP

Three men accused of kidnapping and robbing a girl were lynched by a crowd in central Mexico on Saturday, local authorities said.

Lynchings have increased in Mexico in recent years, with experts saying the perception of impunity leads communities to take justice into their own hands.

The trio were killed on Saturday afternoon in San Juan Amecac, 42 miles southeast of the capital Mexico City, a local government statement said.

"Three men died after being detained and lynched by residents for the alleged robbery and kidnapping of a minor," it said.

Police rushed to the scene but the men "no longer showed vital signs" by the time they arrived, it added.

Some 300 people participated in the lynching -- hanging and beating the men until they were dead, according to local media.

The uptick in vigilantism is taking place amidst a broader increase in violence in Mexico since 2006, fueled by drug trafficking.

In June, four men were lynched and then burned in the nearby city of Atlixco by a crowd that accused them of stealing a vehicle.

In March, residents of the southern city of Taxco lynched a woman they accused of murdering an eight-year-old girl. Two men also suspected by locals of involvement were attacked but survived, the BBC reported.

In 2022, a mob in Mexico attacked a young political adviser and then set him on fire over child trafficking accusations shared on chat groups.

In 2018, two men were burned to death in Puebla after rumors spread on WhatsApp that they were child abductors, BBC News reported. The rumors turned out to be untrue.

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