11 yr old boy dies at fruit stand in slum shootout

RIO DE JANEIRO – An 11-year-old boy and a teenager died and two other people were wounded in a shootout overnight in one of Rio de Janeiro’s sprawling shantytowns, or “favelas,” authorities reported Thursday.

The victims were shot by a group of armed men who entered the slum in several automobiles and opened fire indiscriminately before fleeing, according to a Rio de Janeiro Civil Police report.

The incident occurred in Cidade de Deus, a very poor neighborhood in western Rio made famous by the 2002 film of the same name that told the story of turf wars between rival drug trafficking gangs, who were expelled from the area in 2009 when police set up a permanent station and presence there.

The young boy, identified as Marcos Vinicius dos Santos, was helping his father at a street fruit stand when he was struck by one bullet in the chest.

The boy was taken to a nearby urgent care clinic in the favela but he died from his wound.

A 17-year-old teenage boy was also brought to the same clinic, but he also died, while a woman and another minor with bullet wounds were treated and are out of danger.

According to assorted witnesses, the gunmen entered the favela along a heavily traveled street.

Police suspect that the attack was staged by members of a militia, as parapolice organizations operating in different favelas near Cidade de Deus are known.

The parapolice outfits are comprised mainly of police officers, and they collect “taxes” for “protecting” people living in the areas they control.

After the shootings, many residents of the favela blocked the most important access routes into the area with burning tires and took to the streets for three hours to protest.