13-year-old shot dead by Brazilian police in mock-up of hijacking situation
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
- 5 December 2011: Finnish trio shot dead in Brazil
- 14 August 2011: Corruption threatens Brazil's Olympics and World Cup
- 12 July 2011: Study shows long-term couples more satisfied with relationships and sex lives
- 3 July 2011: Former Brazilian president Itamar Franco dies aged 81
- 22 June 2011: Brazil spots unknown tribe of indigenous people in Amazon jungle
A 13-year-old boy was killed and ten people were injured in an accidental shooting incident in the Brazilian town of Rondonopolis.
The police were staging a mock hijack as a training exercise with real people in a bus as an audience on Saturday. They fired their guns at cardboard cutouts of criminals in the exercise. However, they used live ammunition in their guns, and the shots went straight through the cutouts and the glass windows of the bus.
Luis Henrique Dias Bulhoes, 13, was killed by a single shot to the head received from one of three 12-gauge shotguns that were amongst the weaponry the 16 police were using. Among the 600 people attending the exercise, six children and three adults were also injured.
Police admitted to the blunder on Monday. They believe bullets from more than one gun reached the audience. Seven of the 16 policeman are temporarily dismissed from their positions pending investigations.
Sources
- ITN. "Boy dies in Brazil police tragedy" — Channel 4, May 29, 2007
- "Brazilian police kill boy in mock anti-hijack operation" — People's Daily Online, May 29, 2007
