Protesters gathered this morning (12) in São Gonçalo, in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro, to protest for justice in the case of the murder of Durval Teófilo Filho, 38, who was shot dead by a neighbor upon arriving at the condominium where he lived with his family, on February 2.
The act was attended by family and friends of Durval, who lived in the city, the second most populous in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The protesters carried banners and posters that called for justice and repudiated racism and walked through the streets of downtown Rio de Janeiro. Many wore shirts with a picture of Durval, who was black.
Among the phrases raised in protest were calls for “Justice for Durval!”, “We are all Durval”, “Enough of racism”, “Racism kills!” and “Stop killing us!”
The shots that killed Durval were fired by Sergeant Aurélio Alves Bezerra, 41 years old. He was arrested and claimed he mistook his neighbor for a burglar and shot him three times from inside his car. The case was even registered as manslaughter, without the intention to kill, but the Public Ministry of the State of Rio de Janeiro asked that the homicide be considered intentional, which was answered by the Civil Police.
The case was referred to the 4th Criminal Court of São Gonçalo, which has the authority to establish a Jury Court. Durval left his wife Luziane Teófilo and a 6-year-old daughter.
