The north-eastern Brazilian state of Ceara was in mourning yesterday when 14 people were killed in a shooting at a crowded nightclub. The incident, which took place in the city of Fortaleza, also injured at least six other people, some of whom are still in critical condition.
Although the motive is not yet known, police is working from the assumption that it relates to a deadly dispute between two criminal gangs, the Guardians of the State (GDE) who confronted rival members of the Red Command (CV).
<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">At least 14 killed, six injured in a Fortaleza nightclub shooting, NE <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Brazil?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Brazil</a> <a href="https://t.co/VDxcs4fG2J">pic.twitter.com/VDxcs4fG2J</a></p>— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/CGTNOfficial/status/957441103170486272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2018</a></blockquote>
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According to eyewitnesses, three cars full of armed men arrived at the Forro do Gago club at 12.30 am and fired at the front of the building towards everyone standing there. The shooting lasted for about 30 minutes.
Mr Camilo Santana, governor of the state of Ceara, explained that 82% of all homicides recorded in December of last year were due to a conflict between different factions of drug traffickers.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Brazil?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Brazil</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/shooting?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#shooting</a>: Gunmen kill 14 in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Fortaleza?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Fortaleza</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nightclub?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#nightclub</a><a href="https://t.co/GNmlolkm1o">https://t.co/GNmlolkm1o</a> <a href="https://t.co/V9Q7QOQ7RR">pic.twitter.com/V9Q7QOQ7RR</a></p>— Financial Express (@FinancialXpress) <a href="https://twitter.com/FinancialXpress/status/957406284747128832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2018</a></blockquote>
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A military police officer commented on O Povo News: “An armed group arrived in three cars, invaded the nightclub and just started shooting at the victims. We've been told there were at least 15 gunmen firing semi-automatics randomly. People didn't have a chance to defend themselves, as they were caught completely off guard.”
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“There are bullet holes in the walls inside and outside the club and in cars parked nearby. We believe, the order was to kill members of the Red Command. However, according to eyewitnesses many of the people who were hit had no involvement in organised crime and were innocent bystanders.”
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