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Malcolm Shabazz, Grandson Of Malcolm X, Killed In Mexico

MEXICO CITY (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of civil rights activist Malcolm X, was shot and killed this week in Mexico.

Shabazz, 28, was killed Thursday morning in Mexico City, two U.S. officials said in a CBS Crimesider report, speaking anonymously.

Shabazz family publicist Terrie Williams, who runs the Terrie Williams agency in New York, confirmed the death via Facebook and Twitter.

"I'm confirming, per the U.S. Embassy, on behalf of the family, the tragic death of Malcolm Shabazz, grandson of Malcolm X," she wrote on her Facebook and Twitter accounts. "Statement from family to come."

Published reports said Shabazz was in Mexico visiting labor activist Miguel Suarez, who was deported from the U.S. An Associated Press report said Suarez and Shabazz went to a bar together, and Shabazz was beaten up over a dispute about a $1,200 bill at the bar.

Suarez said he later discovered Shabazz injured outside the bar, and he died of blunt force injuries at the hospital, the Associated Press reported.

Shabazz was the son of Qubilah Shabazz, the daughter of Malcolm X and his wife Betty Shabazz, CBS News reported.

In 1997, Malcolm Shabazz, then 12, set a fire at Betty Shabazz's home in Yonkers, CBS News reported.. Malcolm Shabazz pleaded guilty to second-degree arson and second-degree manslaughter in the fire, which left his 63-year-old grandmother dead.

He served four years in juvenile detention.

In 2002 and 2006, Shabazz again found himself in court after allegedly taking part in a violent robbery and smashing in a window at a Dunkin' Donuts, CBS News reported.

Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965, as he prepared to address the Organization of Afro-American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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