Rio de Janeiro councilor and candidate for reelection for the Workers’ Party (PT), Tainá de Paula, suffered a shooting attack on Thursday night (3).
The case occurred in Vila Isabel, a neighborhood in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro, where two armed men shot twice at the vehicle in which the parliamentarian and her team were traveling. In a statement, the councilor’s advisory team reported that, as the car was armored, there were no injuries.
“I was just approached by two men who fired two pistol shots at my car, towards my door, in Vila Isabel. I travel with an armored car and my protections. They won’t stop us! Axé!”, wrote Tainá on her social networks that same night.
Attack history
This is not the first episode involving attacks on the councilor. On May 21, Tainá was accompanied by her daughter, Aurora, and wife, Suka, on her way home when she was approached by two armed men on a motorcycle. There were also no victims at the time.
Wanted by Brazil Agencythe Civil Police of the State of Rio de Janeiro reported that the investigation into yesterday’s attack is ongoing at the 20th Police Station. Initially, the police ruled out political motivation behind the case and considered that the shooting was the result of an attempted robbery.
“Initial investigations rule out the possibility of political motivation in the crime, considering it an attempted robbery. The agents are investigating the authorship of the crime,” he declared in a statement.
According to the Fogo Cruzado Institute, last night’s shots were the 100th case of attack against people linked to politics, be they candidates, pre-candidates, politicians, advisors or supporters, in Greater Rio since 2016.
At Bluesky, the institute’s director, Cecília Olliveira, commented on the symbolism of the attack.
“Again, a councilor, a black woman, is the victim of a brutal attack that could have ended like Marielle, if it weren’t for the armored car. We’ve already seen this film and the ending was tragic. These cases need exemplary investigation.”
*Intern under the supervision of Vinícius Lisboa
