Skip to main content

Brazil nightclub shooting: 14 people killed in Fortaleza after gunmen storm party

Witnesses say shooters arrived in three heavily armed cars and burst into venue firing weapons,
A “large number of people” have been shot dead in north-western Brazil after gunmen stormed into a party, police said.
Local media reported that 14 people had been killed in the shootings at a nightclub in the city of Fortaleza. 
At least six others, some of them children, were injured, according to the country's National Public Security Force.
Police believe the shootings could be linked to a rivalry between drug gangs but many of those killed are thought to have been innocent party-goers with no connections to organised crime.
Up to 15 gunmen arrived in three heavily armed cars at 1.30am on Saturday and fired their weapons as they entered Forró do Gago nightclub.
People fled the club and sheltered in nearby houses as shots went on for half an hour, witnesses told O Globo
Footage of the aftermath showed blood on the ground outside the club in the Cajazeiras area of Fortaleza, a coastal city in the state of Ceará.
The newspaper said the shooting was the deadliest in the city's history.
Twelve people died at the scene and two others were pronounced dead later in hospital. At least men, four women, and two teenagers were reported to be among the dead.
A 12-year-old boy and two 16-year-old girls were said to be among the wounded survivors.
Police deployed a helicopter in the search for the gunmen but there are no reports of arrests. Witnesses were said to be scared of providing information to authorities out of fear of reprisals.
Ceará has the second highest levels of violence among Brazilian states, according to the newspaper Estadao, with drug traffickers blamed for increasing bloodshed.CC

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ex-President Omar al-Bashir sent to prison days after he was ousted in a military coup

Sudan's former President Omar al-Bashir has been moved to Kobar maximum security prison, days after he was deposed in a military coup.   Reports say the ex-leader has until now been detained at the presidential residence under heavy guard. He is reportedly being held in solitary confinement and is surrounded by tight security.   Months of protests in Sudan led to the ousting and arrest of the long-time ruler on Thursday. Uganda's Minister for Foreign Affairs Henry Oryem Okello told Reuters news agency the country would consider offering the deposed leader asylum if he applied, despite an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).   As an ICC member, Uganda would have to hand over Mr Bashir if he arrived in the country. The ICC has not yet commented. Until now, Bashir's whereabouts since his removal were unknown. The coup leader at the time, Awad Ibn Auf, said Mr Bashir was being detained in a "safe place". He himself stoo...

Community leader, two others shot in Plateau attacks

                        The district head of Gashis community in Plateau State and two others were shot on Sunday evening, an official has said. The transition management committee chairman of Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State, Dickson Chollom, on Monday reported the shooting of the district head in his house and that of two others in a barber’s shop in Barkin Ladi by armed men. “Gwom Rwei Gashis (the district head) is unconscious and has been rushed down to Barkin Ladi general hospital,” he said. Mr Chollom said the special task force on the Jos crisis (STF), also known as “Operation Safe Heaven” reported the shooting of the community leader to him. “Gashis commander, Awolor, confirmed to me that Mr Gashis’ residence was attacked and burned down.” Mr Chollom, in a text message on Monday morning, told PREMIUM TIMES that the community le...

Obanikoro moved N1.2bn to Ekiti for Fayose in three aircraft – Witness

The trial of the immediate-past Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose for alleged theft and money  laundering opened on Monday with a prosecution witness narrating to the court how a former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, helped the ex-governor to move N1.2bn cash from Lagos to Ekiti by loading the cash in three aircraft. Fayose and a firm, Spotless Nigeria Limited, are being tried by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission before the Federal High Court in Lagos for an alleged N2.2bn fraud. The anti-graft agency claimed that Fayose used the money for his governorship election in Ekiti State in 2014, adding that he ought to have reasonably known that the funds were proceeds of unlawful activities. The two defendants were arraigned on October 22, 2018 before Justice Mojisola Olatoregun on 11 counts bordering on criminal breach of trust, theft and money laundering. They, however, pleaded not guilty. In a bid to prove the allegation...