Politics · Brazil · 1 hr ago
Young man shot 27 times by police in São Paulo; officers taken off street duty
Gustavo Munis Santana, a 20-year-old apprentice, was killed by military police in Moema, a district in southern São Paulo, on Saturday morning.
Four officers fired 45 shots, and Santana was hit 27 times.
His family’s lawyer says police mistook a cell phone for a gun and calls the shooting excessive and technically unsound.
She also says racial stereotypes may have shaped how officers viewed the young Black man in an affluent neighborhood.
Santana lived nearby with his mother and sisters, and his family said he was receiving treatment for depression.
The São Paulo state public security department says it is investigating and reviewing the officers’ body-camera footage.
The officers have been removed from street duties, and their weapons have been seized.
Gustavo Munis Santana, 20, was shot dead by four military police officers in Moema, São Paulo, on Saturday, October 10.
He was hit by 27 of the 45 shots fired by the officers.
The officers have been removed from street duties, and their weapons have been seized.
São Paulo’s Public Security Secretariat says it is investigating the case and reviewing body-camera footage.
The family’s lawyer called the police action disproportionate, while the secretariat said it does not tolerate misconduct and that the military police reject racism.
- Who
- Gustavo Munis Santana, 20, was killed. Four military police officers fired their weapons.
- What
- Santana was shot 27 times during an encounter in which officers fired 45 shots in total.
- When
- The shooting happened in the early hours of Saturday, October 10.
- Where
- Moema, in the south of São Paulo.
- Why
- The officers reportedly said they mistook a cell phone for a firearm. The circumstances are under investigation.
Gustavo’s family lawyer
São Paulo Public Security Secretariat
Police action
Gustavo’s family lawyer
Ana Facillia Meira called the action excessively violent and disproportionate, and criticized the officers’ technical conduct.
São Paulo Public Security Secretariat
The secretariat said it does not tolerate misconduct and is rigorously investigating the circumstances.
Discrimination
Gustavo’s family lawyer
Meira said suspicion and racial stereotypes can lead to a Black young person’s presence in an affluent neighborhood being treated as a threat.
São Paulo Public Security Secretariat
The secretariat said the military police reject racism and act rigorously against the crime.
Gustavo Munis Santana was shot dead in Moema in the early hours of the morning.
Santana was buried in the afternoon.
The family’s lawyer sent a statement to Folha criticizing the police action.
- Victim
- Gustavo Munis Santana, 20
- Location
- Moema, southern São Paulo
- Shots fired
- 45 by four military police officers
- Shots that hit Santana
- 27
- Officers
- Removed from street duties
- Weapons
- Used in the shooting and seized
What people are saying
The legal team emphasizes the extreme violence, poor technical conduct and total disproportionality of the police action.
It is inadmissible for state agents to have fired 45 shots, hitting the young man with 27 bullets, on the justification that they mistook a cell phone for a firearm.
Sources
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