Some 2,000 people attacked a police station Tuesday night in the Andean town of Celendín, in Peru’s northern Cajamarca Department following the death of a 27-year-old man in police custody. According to daily El Comercio, the mob was armed with stones and sticks. They burned two police vehicles, a motorcycle, several computers and police archives. Ten police officers escaped without injury.
The mob was protesting the death of Luis Enrique Ortiz Gonzales, who was reportedly arrested last Friday on charges of domestic abuse. He died shortly after he was arrested while being held at the station. An autopsy suggested Ortiz suffocated, however members of his family told local media his body showed signs of abuse and they accused police of killing him.
