NOTEWORTHY DEATH

Malcolm X grandson, fatal-fire starter

MEXICO CITY - Malcolm Shabazz, grandson of political activist Malcolm X, died while traveling in Mexico, U.S. officials confirmed Friday. He was 28.

Two U.S. officials said Shabazz was killed Thursday morning in Mexico City. They did not provide additional details and they spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the case.

Shabazz family publicist Terrie Williams confirmed the death and said the family would issue a statement later.

Labor activist Miguel Suarez said he was with Shabazz when his friend was beaten up during a dispute over a bill at a Mexico City bar.

Shabazz was born in 1984 to Qubilah Shabazz, one of six daughters of Malcolm X and his wife, Betty Shabazz.

Qubilah was 4 years old when she saw her father shot to death as he delivered a speech in a Harlem, N.Y., ballroom in 1965.

In June 1997, Malcolm Shabazz, then 12, set a fire at his grandmother Betty Shabazz’s home. She died from severe burns, and he served four years in juvenile detention.

He later expressed regret for his actions, telling The New York Times in 2003 that he would sit on his jail cot and ask for a sign of forgiveness from his dead grandmother.

Shabazz also served time for a 2002 attempted robbery conviction, and was released in 2005. In 2006, he pleaded guilty to criminal mischief for smashing the window of a Yonkers, N.Y., doughnut shop.

In recent years, Shabazz said he was writing a memoir and traveling the United States to speak out against youth violence.