That is exactly what the article seems to be claiming. Note that it says many of these incidents involve lynchings by so-called "friends". And the article also implies that these claims do NOT hold up, when they are investigated. The problem is that the disabled victim is already dead or injured before any investigation is done. Like the witch hunts of the past (and even present, in some countries!) just the suspicion of wrongdoing is enough to make some people respond with violence. It's basically the old in-group vs out-group thing. Us against them. And the less "they" are like "us", the more of a threat they appear to be.
Even in a civilized world we are not far from our animal roots.