Brazil: Police Accused of Killing Black Man on His Way To Work

The fatal event took place in the Cidade de Deus neighborhood, west of Rio de Janeiro.

Marcelo Guimarães, a 38 years old Afro-Brazilian man, was killed this Monday morning after being hit by a rifle bullet fired by the country's Military Police (PM) while he was en route to work.

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Authorities said the man, who worked in a marble store, was shot during a gunfight between police and drug dealers, initiated by the petty criminals, police asserted.

That said, according to videos published on social networks by the area's neighbors, it is possible to see an armored vehicle leaving the site where Guimarães worked, raising suspicions.

"Marcelo Guimarães, 38 years old. Assassinated while on his way to work by the Military Police in Cidade de Deus - Rio de Janeiro. Brazil begins its first working day in 2021 with a centuries-old question: Until when?"

The victim's own daughter, Vitória Guimarães, accused the Military Police of having killed her father.

Furthermore, Marcelo's death caused widespread riots in the community. After the event, the atmosphere became tense in the neighborhood, and some people tried to close the streets, in which inhabitants placed barricades made of furniture on the Linha Amarela, one of Rio's main thoroughfares.