Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of icon Malcolm X, was killed in Tijuana Mexico, according to The Amsterdam News, as reported by the Huffington Post on Friday. His death was also confirmed in a Twitter message by a friend of the Shabazz family, Terrie Williams.

Talking Points Memo reported that he died of injuries sustained during a robbery.

"[Shabazz] was murdered. He was in Mexico City and I believe they attempted to rob him and he didn't allow it, so they beat him to death and he died on his way to the hospital," Juan Ruiz said. Ruiz is a a member of Rumec, a California-based labor organization.

Shabazz is the son of Qubliah Shabazz, the second daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz. Shabazz reportedly had various incidents with the law, including setting a fire that caused the death of his grandmother. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter, was found guilty of arson, and was sentenced to 18 months in a juvenile detention facility.

In 2002, he plead guilty to attempted robbery and was senteced to three and a half years in prison. After his release in 2006, he was arrested again for punching a hole in a donut store window.

He is survived by his mother and two daughters.

Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965, and has been seen as one of the most influential African Americans in history.

He was a Muslim minister and human rights activist, man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its crimes against black Americans.