A vigilante mob in Haiti took justice into their own hands to strike a blow against the violent gangs that rule the streets of the capital.

The Associated Press reports that a group of 13 suspected gangsters were beaten and burned to death by people in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince Monday (April 24) after snatching them away from police custody.

Haiti National Police said officers took the suspects into custody early Monday after a traffic stop in the Canape Vert section of the capital. Authorities conducted a search of vehicle and confiscated weapons before they were “unfortunately lynched by members of the population,” according to the AP.

The crowd beat and stoned the suspected gang members before putting ties doused in gasoline on them and setting the tires on fire, a witness identified as Edner Samuel told the AP. Members of the mob believed the suspects were members of the notorious Kraze Barye gang and on their way to help other gang members who were in a gunfight with the police.

In a separate incident on Monday (April 24), six more suspected gangsters were set on fire in the nearby section of Turgeaulater. Witnesses said police officers killed them in a gun battle before local residents gathered the bodies and set them on fire, the AP reported but couldn’t independently confirm witness statements.

The Caribbean nation has been overrun with violent crime since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021, with gangs now controlling an estimated 60 percent of the capital, according to BBC News, citing a United Nations report. Between April 14 and April 19 alone, gang violence in the capital led to the death of almost 70 people.

Gangs in Haiti are increasingly using sexual violence against women to terrorize and control people and territory. The gangs are even targeting children as young as 10, elderly women and sometimes men in the explosion of violence, according to a disturbing UN human rights report last October.