CAIRO – Egyptian vigilantes beat two men accused of stealing a motorized rickshaw Sunday and then hung them by their feet while some in a watching crowd chanted “kill them!” Both men died, security officials said.

The killings come a week after the attorney general’s office encouraged civilians to arrest lawbreakers and hand them over to police. They are emblematic of the chaos sweeping Egypt and a security breakdown of frightening proportions.

It was one of the most extreme cases of vigilantism in two years of sharply deteriorating security following the 2011 uprising. Gruesome photos circulated quickly on Facebook and other social media outlets, showing images taken by people in the crowd of thousands who watched and recorded the lynchings on cell phone cameras.