The Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro is investigating an episode of violence registered in a bar near Maracanã, where the first match of the final of the championship between Flamengo and Fluminense took place on Saturday night (1st). Fluminense fans usually gather there to watch the team’s games. The bar was full when Thiago Leonel Fernandes da Motta was shot and died. Bruno Tonini Moura was also hit, who was taken to a hospital. There is no information about his health status.
The author of the shots is Marcelo de Lima, a criminal police inspector linked to the State Department of Penitentiary Administration (Seap), who was off duty. According to witness reports, the crime was not motivated by disagreements about football, but by an argument involving the last slices of pizza sold by the establishment, which were disputed by the shooter and the victims. After the melee, the criminal police inspector pulled out his gun and fired shots.
Marcelo de Lima was arrested red-handed by military police and taken to the Homicide Police Station. The criminal police officer was booked for the crime of qualified homicide against Thiago Leonel Fernandes da Motta and attempted murder against Bruno Tonini Moura.
On social networks, a video is circulating that shows the crowd of Fluminense fans when nine shots are heard. Initially, those present demonstrate not understanding what was happening. Then some run and others duck.
In a note released on their social networks, Fluminense mourned Thiago’s death and expressed support for Bruno’s recovery. “We hope that the facts will be thoroughly investigated and the person responsible will be punished. All our solidarity with the families and friends of the victims”, added the club. Seap repudiated the act of violence committed by its server and informed that an Administrative Disciplinary Procedure will be opened.
Thiago’s family and friends published messages in his honor. He was a photographer and videographer and participated in the work of Grupo Globo. Artists who knew him expressed their regret. “How sad! Lots of light for this special guy”, wrote actress Fernanda Paes Leme. “My God!!! Thiago is pure light!!! Sadness”, posted the actor José Loreto. Another actress who regretted the episode was Débora Secco: “Without believing”.
He was also part of Samba Pra Roda, a group he founded with friends. “I lost a friend, a brother, one of the most ingenious and talented people I’ve ever met, who taught me so many things on the slopes of this hill. This is all because of violence, the lack of control over weapons, the trivialization of life. Unbelievable”, wrote Omar Monteiro, owner of Bar do Omar, located near Morro do Pinto in the Santo Cristo neighborhood, where the group used to perform.
Violence
The new episode of violence in the vicinity of Maracanã comes less than a month after a widespread fight between Vasco and Flamengo fans that left several injured. The confrontation took place on March 5, when the two teams faced each other in a match valid for the Carioca championship.
Eder Eliazar, from Vasco da Gama, died after being hospitalized for 15 days. Also on March 5, another Basque man was shot and died near the São Januário stadium, but the Civil Police consider the main hypothesis of execution motivated by a feud with drug dealers.
Episodes of violence around the stadiums in the capital led the Court of Justice of Rio Janeiro (TJRJ) to decree, last month, the temporary prison of the presidents of the organized supporters Young Flu (Fluminense), Força Jovem (Vasco), Torcida Jovem (Flamengo) and Raça Rubro-Negra (Flamengo). Judge Ana Beatriz Estrella’s decision pointed out that they had already been charged and, given their leadership position, are directly responsible for committing the crimes being investigated.
Following a similar understanding, judge Bruno Vaccari Manfrenatti, from the TJRJ Special Court for Fans and Major Events, subsequently authorized search and seizure actions and the unavailability of assets from the four fans. In addition, he determined that they are barred from accessing sporting events for five years. The magistrate also established that 16 fans wear electronic anklets for six months, being prohibited from approaching stadiums on match days.
The arrest warrants against the presidents of the four organized support groups have not yet been complied with and they are considered outlaws. The Public Prosecutor’s Office of Rio de Janeiro (MPRJ) manifested itself in the procedural records against the arrests, alleging the fragility of the accusation, since there would be no evidence of the personal participation of each person in the acts of violence. “There is no evidentiary element about the criminal authorship”.
The National Association of Organized Supporters (Anatorg) also contests the decision and argues that organized supporters cannot be held responsible for crimes committed by infiltrated groups of criminals.
“We are against violence, we defend the punishment in the CPF of those who commit crimes, and we want fans to encourage their teams, having a party in the stands. Justice yes, dictatorship no!”
Based on current decisions, the Military Police yesterday detained 17 members of organized supporters who could not be present at Maracanã and its surroundings during the match between Flamengo and Fluminense.
