Rio violence: Protests as girl, eight, killed by police
RIO
DE
JANEIRO
Protests have erupted in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro after an eight-year-old girl was allegedly killed by police, as the number of victims in operations by security forces continues to rise. Ágatha Vitória Sales Félix was with her grandmother in a van when she was shot in the back in a poor area on Friday. Residents said officers had targeted a motorcyclist when she was hit. Police said they had responded to an attack. A record 1,249 people have died in such raids in Rio from January to August. Ágatha is the fifth child to die as a result of violence blamed on the police. Critics say the hard-line approach of conservative Governor Wilson Witzel, who came to office in January, is behind the growing number of victims in the city›s poorest areas, called favelas.
On Saturday, dozens of people protested in Alemão, one of Rio›s largest favelas, where Ágatha was hit on Friday night. She was sent to a hospital but died. Some of the demonstrators carried placards saying ‘Lives in the favelas matter’ and ‘Stop killing us’. Other protests were planned for Sunday. In a statement, police said officers had responded to attacks, leading to a confrontation with criminals. An investigation has been launched.
But Ágatha’s family disputed this, saying officers had targeted a motorcyclist when she was hit, and there was no gunfight happening at the time. “A guy came on a motorbike and the police asked him to stop. He didn›t stop and left, he was unarmed, and the police shot. There was no confrontation, the only shot was [from the police],” the girl’s uncle, Elias, told local media.
(BBC)