Young Juliana Leite Rangel, shot in the head by agents of the Federal Highway Police (PRF) on Christmas Eve (24), had a worsening health condition, needing to return to mechanical breathing and interrupting the rehabilitation process. The information was released in the early hours of this Wednesday (8) by the city hall of Duque de Caxias, responsible for the Hospital Municipalizado Adão Pereira Nunes, in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro.
The bulletin, prepared by the hospital management on Tuesday night (7), says that Juliana had worsened in the previous 24 hours.
“He had a fever again, clinical and laboratory signs of a new infection, requiring medication to control blood pressure, return to light sedation and return to mechanical ventilation, in addition to adjustments in the treatment of the infection”, details the statement.
“The rehabilitation process had to be interrupted due to the worsening of the infectious condition”, he adds.
The young woman continues to need a tracheostomy (a surgical procedure that consists of creating an opening in the trachea/throat so that the patient can breathe).
Frame change
In the last few days, Juliana had shown improvements, including the removal of mechanical ventilation, becoming lucid, opening her eyes, interacting with people and moving her limbs.
According to the hospital management, the patient remains in intensive care, being monitored by the neurosurgery service, psychology and multidisciplinary team. There is no forecast for discharge from the Intensive Care Center (CTI).
Remember the case
Juliana Rangel was shot with a rifle on Christmas Eve, inside the family car, on Rodovia Washington Luís (BR-040), in Duque de Caxias. According to her father, Alexandre Rangel, who was driving the car, there was no reason for the shooting. He was also hit in the left hand and was discharged on Tuesday night. The family car, of five people, had several punctures.
The Federal Police (PF) and the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) are investigating the case. The general director of the PRF, Antônio Fernando Souza Oliveira, stated that the corporation investigates all cases of excesses during police approaches made by its agents. The two men and the woman who participated in the approach were preventively removed from all operational activities.
The family is petitioning the Federal Court for a provisional pension to support himself financially, since Juliana’s father, a self-employed mechanic, cannot work because of his injured hand.
The PRF states that it provides logistical assistance for the family’s necessary travel, in addition to offering psychological support.
Girl dead in 2023
In 2023, another case of a car hit by shots fired by federal highway police officers in Rio de Janeiro ended with the death of 3-year-old girl Heloísa dos Santos Silva. The approach was on September 7th, on the Raphael de Almeida Magalhães Highway, known as Arco Metropolitano, near the municipality of Seropédica.
THE MPF complaint details that Heloísa’s father, Willian de Souza, was driving the family vehicle and noticed that he was being followed by a police car. He turned on the turn signal and headed to the side of the road, but the police shot at the car while it was still moving.
