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Protest Sparked by Death of Globo Dancer Leaves One Dead in Rio
04/23/2014 - 08h46
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MARCO ANTÔNIO MARTINS
FROM RIO
A man died of a gunshot wound to the head last night during a protest in Rio's Copacabana neighborhood started by residents of the Pavão-Pavãozinho favela, located on the edge of the Ipanema neighborhood.
The residents were protesting the death of Douglas Rafael da Silva Pereira, 25, a dancer on the program "Esquenta," hosted by Regina Casé on TV Globo. They closed off streets, cordoned off a tunnel, and burned at least one car and piles of garbage.
Bombs and bullets were fired from the top of the favela. Ten UPP (Pacifying Police Unit) officers were trapped on the hill. The BOPE (Special Operations Batallion) went into the favela and rescued the military police officers.
At the time of publishing, the victim, a man of about 30 years of age, had not yet been identified. There was still no information on the origin of the gunshot.
According to the City Health Department, the man died before arriving at Miguel Couto Hospital in Gavéa, a neighborhood in southern Rio.
DANCER
The body of DG, as the dancer was known, was found yesterday morning after it had fallen into a ravine of about 10 feet high, near the courtyard of a school in the favela.
According to police, his body was bruised, possibly indicating that the fall killed him.
Residents have a different version. They say DG was mistaken for a trafficker and ran to escape police. While running, he fell down the ravine.
Police interviewed by Folha said the man had broken ribs. Residents told reporters they suspected he might have been beaten.
Traffic on streets in the area was blocked, while businesses and subway station in the region were closed.
Police believe traffickers from the Comando Vermelho orchestrated the protest.
NITERÓI
The governor of Rio, Luiz Fernando Pezão, and the secretary of security, José Mariano Beltrame, promised measures to reduce crime in Niterói. Over the weekend, nine vehicles were burned in protest.
Translated by JILL LANGLOIS
Read the article in the original language
Lucas Landau/Reuters | ||
A resident gestures during a protest against the death of a man in Pavao-Pavaozinho slum, in the Copacabana neighborhood |