Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash

WARNING: GRAPHIC AND DISTRESSING CONTENT

Newsflash

This is the moment a hitman who had allegedly shot a bus driver dead is beaten unconscious by an angry mob who drag him through the streets before setting him on fire.

The incident took place after bus driver Howard Bonifacio Merlo Flores, 37, was shot to death inside the bus in the colony Arturo Quezada of Comayaguela, in the city of Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital.

Police have not commented on a motive, but it was speculated the bus driver had been targeted by a hitman for failing to pay protection money to local criminals to keep him safe on the job.

Reports state the hitman fired four times, with the gum jamming on the fifth shot before he ran off the bus.

Other bus drivers rushed to the scene and reportedly found the gunman, named by police as Brandon Stuart Lezama Sanchez, 19, still holding the weapon.

Reports state Sanchez was about to flee the scene on a motorbike when he was caught by a mob, including the other bus drivers, who began beating him on the ground.

The video apparently shows the alleged hitman unconscious as he is kicked and dragged through the streets.

His hands were then tied behind his back and he was set on fire, with shocking footage showing the body on fire in the middle of a road as a mob looks on. According to local media, he was unconscious when he was set alight.

A man then appears to pour a flammable liquid on the man’s head, igniting more flames, before throwing the glass bottle on the ground.

Local media report the man’s motorbike was thrown onto the man’s body as he was burning and footage taken after shows his burnt body next to the destroyed two-wheeler.

The fire was reportedly put out by firefighters and police also arrived at the scene to cordon off the area.

No arrests have been reported.

The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.