RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Nine people – one woman and eight men – were trampled to death during a funk party in the community of Paraisópolis, in the South Zone of São Paulo, at dawn on Sunday, December 1st, after a police chase followed by shooting, according to information from the Civil Police. Seven other people were injured.
Police officers from the 16th Metropolitan State Police Battalion (BPM/M) were carrying out Operation ‘Pancadão’ in the region of Paraisópolis when two men on a motorcycle allegedly shot at the officers. The duo fled toward the funk party, still firing at the police and causing a stampede among those who attended the event.
According to the mother of a teenager who was at the scene and was struck with a bottle, the police ambushed the people at the party.
The 17-year-old girl, who was injured during the commotion, described the time when she was struck. “I don’t know what happened, I only saw people running, and several vehicles closed us in. My friend fell, and I went down to help her,” she said.
“When I got up, a police officer struck my head with a bottle. The police officer told me to put my hand on my head,” she said.
Operation ‘Pancadão’ has been carried out periodically throughout the capital “to ensure the citizen’s right to come and go and prevent the disturbance of peace, monitoring noise from vehicles,” according to the Secretariat of Public Safety.
According to the police, teams from the Tactical Force were met with rocks and bottles when they arrived to back up the operation in Paraisópolis. The police then retaliated with chemical ammunition for dispersion – and, according to police information, someone in the crowd fired a shot and there was running.
During the commotion, people were trampled and rushed to the Campo Limpo Emergency Room in serious condition. Two police vehicles were attacked.
A teenager was attacked by police officers, says mother
“(My daughter) was hit over the head with a bottle by a police officer, they struck her back with a baton. When I saw her, I didn’t recognize her. Her face was deformed and she lost a lot of blood. She was in shock”.
“The street has two or three exits. They closed it down and bullied them. They shot with firearms – not only rubber bullets. They hit them with batons and used pepper spray. They were just having fun,” said the victim’s mother.
In November, a young woman was blinded from an eye when she was shot with a rubber bullet by the police in the dispersion of a funk party in the East Zone of São Paulo.
‘Lots of shooting’
An 18-year-old, who is not a resident of Paraisópolis, but who usually attends the parties, said he saw many teenagers falling down and fainting because of the gas bombs fired by the police.
“They came in shooting at everyone. We were at the party and first, there was a bomb. People began to collapse, falling ill, and fainting, getting trampled. We were trapped. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to go. Many people fell dead, the police fired. Many people were trying to save their lives. I saw a lot of blood and heard many shots,” said the young man.
His mother said: “It was a little tense, the police wanted to know if my son was at the funk party. It’s a war on the poor. If it were in Jardins (a luxury neighborhood in São Paulo), it would be different. Even the way the police approach them is different. The problem is not funk, it’s the culture of the suburbs, it’s leisure”.
Delegate Emiliano da Silva Neto, of the 89th Precinct, said that all the victims had been trampled and that nobody had been shot.
“The state police stopped two men on a motorcycle. They went inside where the party was taking place and kept shooting at the police. As a result, people started running and trampled over each other,” he said. “Nine died. All of them are seriously injured as a result of trampling, but no one has been shot by a firearm”.
Governor calls for ‘thorough’ investigation
Governor João Doria called for a “thorough investigation” of the incident.
“I deeply regret the deaths that occurred at the funk party in Paraisópolis this evening. I ordered the Secretary of Public Safety, General Campos, to conduct a thorough investigation of the events to clarify the circumstances and responsibilities of this sad incident”, wrote Doria, on Twitter.
The funk parties in São Paulo favelas are held from Thursday to Sunday, until dawn, in the East, South and North zones of the São Paulo capital.
Source: Globo