11 people killed in Brazil in what officials call a 'massacre'

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Six women and five men were killed Sunday afternoon after a gang of gunmen roared up to a bar in Belem, a city located in northern Brazil's Pará state, and opened fire, media reports said.

State officials confirmed only that “a massacre” occurred but gave no details.

Police reported that seven gunmen were involved in the attack, which also wounded one person， according to G1 website, a Brazilian local news portal.

The news outlet also said the attackers arrived at the bar on one motorcycle and in three cars.

Residents gather outside a bar as forensic personnel and criminal police remove corpses after a shooting in Belem, Para state, northern Brazil, May 19, 2019. /VCG Photo

According to the Association Press, Natalia Mello, Pará state spokeswoman, said, “a massacre is confirmed,” although state communications officials stopped answering phone calls made by AP reporters.

Yet the information was deleted by the U.S. news agency based in New York after a few hours being posted.

Reported by Reuters, the killings took place in the Guamá neighborhood, one of the seven most violent spots in the metropolitan Belem area where National Guard troops were sent in March to boost security. There were 756 violent deaths in Para state in the first quarter this year.

The identities of the gunmen remains unknown to the public after a shooting in a bar in Belem, Para state, northern Brazil, May 19, 2019. /VCG Photo

Much of Brazil's violence is gang related. In January, gangs attacked across Fortaleza, bringing that city to a standstill with as commerce, buses and taxis shut down.

President Jair Bolsonaro has made campaign promises against Brazil's strict gun control. Under his upcoming decree, "upstanding citizens" would have the right to defend themselves with legally purchased guns, while facing well-armed criminals with illegally obtained guns.

Federal prosecutors are not looking positive on this strict gun control policy and seeking to get the courts to block the move.

Bloomberg also commented on the move in early January by saying that "more guns means more deaths by gun — whether by homicide, accident or suicide."

It is found that a one percent increase in the number of guns in circulation resulted in a two percent increase in the homicide rate, according a study in Brazil's state of Sao Paulo cited by Bloomberg.

(Cover photo: Forensic personnel and criminal police remove corpses from a bar where a shooting take place in Belem, Para state, northern Brazil, May 19, 2019. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AP ,Reuters