Bar shooting kills 11 people in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO — Gunmen attacked a bar in the capital of Brazil’s northern Para state Sunday afternoon, and authorities said 11 people were killed.

The state security agency confirmed late Sunday only that six women and five men died in the incident in the Guama neighborhood of the Para state capital, Belem.

The “G1” news website said police reported that seven gunmen were involved in the attack, which also wounded one person. The news outlet said the attackers arrived at the bar on one motorcycle and in three cars.

In late March, the federal government sent National Guard troops to Belem to reinforce security in the city for 90 days.

Brazil, with a population of about 209 million people in 2017, hit a record high that year of 64,000 homicides, 70% of which were due to firearms, according to official statistics. That same year, according to the FBI, the United States had an estimated 17,284 homicides in a population of about 325 million people.

One of new President Jair Bolsonaro’s main campaign promises was that he would loosen Brazil’s strict gun laws, arguing that “upstanding citizens” should have the right to defend themselves with legally bought guns. Federal prosecutors are asking the courts to block two of his decrees intended to make buying guns easier.