Police chief says massacre is believed to be related to drug trafficking.
Police confirm that a settling of scores between drug traffickers is the main line of investigation into the deaths of eight people at the headquarters of Pavilhão 9, a Corinthians fan group; “For now, the strongest line of investigation would be a dispute over a drug sales point. One of the [eight] victims was allegedly involved in this dispute, but nothing is 100% proven yet,” said Luís Fernando Lopes Teixeira; The Security Secretariat reported that four of the deceased had prior police records; one of them, Fábio Neves Domingos, was one of the 12 fans arrested in Oruro, Bolivia, after the death of fan Kevin Spada in 2013.
Elaine Patricia Cruz - Reporter for Agência Brasil
Delegate Luís Fernando Lopes Teixeira, one of those responsible for the investigation of the massacre at the headquarters of Pavilhão 9, a Corinthians supporters' group, said today (20) that the main hypothesis for the deaths is drug trafficking. “For now, the strongest line of investigation would be a dispute over the drug sales point. One of the [eight] victims was involved in this dispute, but nothing is 100% proven yet.”
According to the Military Police, the crime occurred on Saturday night (18), around 23 pm. Seven bodies were found shot at the headquarters of Pavilhão 9, in Ponte dos Remédios, west of the capital. The eighth victim was taken to Hospital das Clínicas, but did not survive the injuries.
Teixeira did not confirm the information that the order for the crimes came from a criminal faction. "I don't have confirmation about that yet," he said. The police rule out the possibility that the massacre was caused by a fight between rival fan groups.
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Police identify eighth victim of massacre at Pavilhão 9 headquarters.
According to the police chief, the police are working with two suspects, but have not revealed their names so as not to jeopardize the investigation. The suspicion is that the crime was committed by two or three men, "light-skinned and not very tall." "We are talking to some witnesses and checking various pieces of information. In one of these checks, we arrived at the names of two individuals, or rather, their nicknames, who could be involved in the crime. But nothing has been proven yet," Teixeira emphasized in an interview. So far, no one has been arrested.
The case is being investigated by the State Department of Homicides and Protection of Persons (DHPP).
The Public Security Secretariat reported that four of the eight dead had prior police records. One of them, Fábio Neves Domingos, 34, was one of the 12 fans arrested in Oruro, Bolivia, after the death of fan Kevin Spada in 2013. Spada was killed by a flare fired during a match between Corinthians and San José, valid for the Copa Libertadores de América.
Besides Domingos, Ricardo Júnior Leonel do Prado, 34, André Luiz Santos de Oliveira, 29, and Mydras Schmidt Rizzo, 38, also had criminal records. Marco Antônio Corassa Júnior and Matheus Fonseca de Oliveira, both 19; Jhonatan Fernando Garzillo Massa, 21; and Jonathan Rodrigues do Nascimento, also 21, also died in the massacre.