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The Case Evaldo Rosa, also known as the Case of the 80 gunshots, refers to the homicide of musician Evaldo Rosa dos Santos and recyclable material collector Luciano Macedo, which occurred on April 7, 2019, in the city of Rio de Janeiro. At 2:40 pm (BRT), Evaldo was driving a Ford Ka with five occupants down Camboatá Road [pt] when Brazilian Army soldiers opened fire. Evaldo was shot and died on the spot. Passenger Sérgio Gonçalves was wounded and Luciano, who was passing by and tried to help, was also shot and died eleven days later. The occupants of the vehicle and witnesses stated that the soldiers started firing abruptly, from behind, without any previous signaling or warning, and did not stop firing even after the musician's pregnant wife and son left the car. According to the Judicial Military Police, the military fired 257 rifle shots. 62 pierced the car.

The Eastern Military Command claimed that the military, on regular patrol, had encountered a robbery in the vicinity and that the victims initiated the exchange of fire. In the same note, it said that an innocent passerby had been the victim of the shooting. Later, the EMC published another note, stating that it had found inconsistencies in the statements of the military personnel, who were removed. Ten of the twelve military personnel in the detachment had their arrest decreed. One of them was released in a custody hearing held at the 1st Audit of the Military Justice on April 10, 2019 and the others on May 23, by decision of the Superior Military Court.

According to documents surveyed by Agência Pública, the military did not conduct regular patrols, but participated in "Operation Muquiço," in which the Army unconstitutionally acted as a public security force (since the 2018 decree guaranteeing law and order had already expired).

Crime

On Sunday afternoon, April 7, 2019, Evaldo's car, which was passing along Camboatá Road [pt], was shot at by rifle shots fired by nine Brazilian Army soldiers. Initially, it was reported that eighty shots had hit the vehicle, but the Military Judiciary Police later determined that the correct number was two hundred and fifty-seven. Evaldo's wife, his seven-year-old son, a family friend, and his father-in-law, who managed to get out of the car before most of the shots were fired, were also in the car.

Initially, it was thought that the victim was a burglar, based on the statements of the military personnel involved. However, after investigation by the Eastern Military Command, the idea was refuted and the military officers responsible were arrested in flagrante delicto. Since then, the case has also been investigated by the Homicide Police.

Investigation

After the Eastern Military Command certified the inconsistency of the statements, ten of the twelve soldiers were heard and had their arrests decreed. For Leonardo Salgado, delegate of the Rio de Janeiro Homicide Police Station, "everything indicates that the military shot when they mistook the car for a robbery". In an interview to Globo, the delegate said that no weapon had been found and that the victimized family was, in fact, normal.

On the same day of the occurrence, the Civil Police found evidence for a flagrant arrest, since the action was incongruous with a possible self-defense due to the number of shots fired. The family friend, who was inside the car, challenged the Army's claim, stating that there was no signaling before the shooting, and that even as the passengers left, they continued firing. Concurring with the family friend's version, Luciana Nogueira, the musician's wife, reported that the military acted in a cold way, even with the egress of the car.

On April 10, 2019, the military's arrest became preventive detention. During a Military Justice custody hearing, it was found that the shots were fired without an obvious threat. Defense Minister Fernando Azevedo e Silva said that the case will be investigated and those responsible will be indicted. Only Soldier Leonardo Delfino Costa claimed not to have fired shots and may be removed from the investigation. In June 2019, a decision by the National Council of Public Prosecutors (CNMP) determined that the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) would no longer investigate the case, leaving the investigation to be exclusive to the Military Public Prosecutor's Office (MPM). The decision generated criticism.

Repercussion

The shooting of Evaldo Rosa was covered in several national and international media outlets, including the BBC, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, and a publication on Clarín.

On the other hand, newspapers like CartaCapital, Estadão, and the HuffPost Brasil publications highlighted the silence of the President of the Republic Jair Bolsonaro in relation to what happened. Otávio Rêgo Barros [pt], a spokesperson for the Presidency of the Republic, reported that Bolsonaro showed no sorrow for the case. Wilson Witzel, governor of Rio de Janeiro, considered the military action a "grotesque error" and commented that he would await the outcome of the investigations, "it is not his place to attribute any consideration to the fact."

On April 12, 2019, six days after Evaldo's death, Bolsonaro commented on the case, saying, "The Army didn't kill anyone, no, the Army belongs to the people. We cannot accuse the people of being murderers, no. There was an incident, there was a death, we regret the death of the hardworking, honest citizen, the responsibility is being ascertained."

On the 18th, Luciano Macedo died as a result of shots fired by the military while trying to rescue Evaldo and his family. The musician was taken to Hospital Carlos Chagas, but he did not resist his injuries.

Two years after the homicide, Luciana Nogueira, Evaldo's widow, fears that the case will be forgotten and both she and her 10-year-old son (2021) are on antidepressants and psychological counseling.

Trial

The trial in the Military Court was scheduled for April 7, 2021, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Rio de Janeiro [pt], and was postponed to for October 13, 2021. Eight military personnel were sentenced to between 28 and 31 years in a closed prison regime in the early morning hours of October 14, 2021.

References

1. ^ "Juíza mantém prisão de 9 de 10 militares do Exército envolvidos na ação que matou músico". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved June 10, 2020.
2. ^ Natália Viana (April 7, 2021). "Dois anos depois, 'caso dos 80 tiros' segue sem solução. "É desesperador", diz viúva de músico fuzilado pelo Exército". Agência Pública (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on April 7, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
3. "80 tiros e o risco da impunidade no Rio de Janeiro". El País (in Brazilian Portuguese). April 9, 2019. Archived from the original on April 20, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
4. ^ "Post em rede social distorce caso dos 12 militares acusados de fuzilar músico no Rio". Estadão Verifica (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved June 10, 2020.
5. "Carro de músico começou a ser fuzilado a 250 metros de distância, aponta perícia do Exército". O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). May 13, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
6. ^ Pauluze, Thaiza (April 8, 2019). "Exército dispara 80 tiros em carro de família no Rio de mata músico". Folha de S. Paulo. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
7. ^ Pierre, Eduardo (April 8, 2019). "Veja o que se sabe sobre a ação do Exército que matou músico e deixou 2 feridos no Rio". G1. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
8. "Dez militares são presos após ação do Exército que fuzilou carro de família no Rio com mais de 80 tiros". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved June 10, 2020.
9. Fausto Macedo. "STM solta nove militares dos 80 tiros contra músico no Rio" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved June 10, 2020.
10. ^ "A verdade por trás da operação que matou o músico Evaldo Rosa". Agência Pública (in Brazilian Portuguese). April 29, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
11. "Dez militares envolvidos em fuzilamento que matou músico são presos". O Tempo. April 8, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
12. Torres, Ana Carolina; Ribeiro, Geraldo (April 8, 2019). "'Cadê meu pai?', repete filho de músico que o viu morrer após carro levar mais de 80 tiros de militares". O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved April 11, 2019.
13. ^ "Delegado diz que 'tudo indica' que Exército fuzilou carro de família por engano no Rio". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). April 8, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
14. "Delegado diz que militares fuzilaram carro de família no Rio por engano; 'tudo indica'". A Tribuna (in Brazilian Portuguese). April 8, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
15. Agência Brasil (April 8, 2019). "Policiais "ficaram de deboche", diz mulher de músico morto no Rio". Metrópoles (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved April 11, 2019.
16. Lisboa, Vinícius (April 10, 2019). "Nove suspeitos de atirar contra músico têm prisão preventiva decretada". Agência Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved April 11, 2019.
17. ""Vamos apurar e cortar na carne", diz ministro da Defesa sobre fuzilamento de homem com 80 tiros pelo Exército". GaúchaZH (in Brazilian Portuguese). April 10, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
18. "Justiça mantém presos os nove militares que fuzilaram carro onde músico foi morto". Extra Online (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved April 20, 2019.
19. "80 tiros: Conselho manda MPF arquivar investigação de fuzilamento de músico e deixar caso com procuradores militares". O Globo. June 11, 2019. Archived from the original on September 5, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
20. "Brazil shooting: 10 soldiers held after family's car riddled with bullets". BBC. April 9, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
21. Phillips, Dom (April 8, 2019). "Brazil: 10 soldiers arrested after firing more than 80 bullets into family's car". The Guardian. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
22. "A relative cries out in agony as she looks at the body of Evaldo dos Santos Rosa". The Telegraph. April 8, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
23. "Militares brasileños acribillan un auto por error y mataron a un músico que iba con sua familia". Clarín (in Spanish). April 8, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
24. "Por que Bolsonaro se cala sobre os 80 tiros que mataram Evaldo?". Carta Capital (in Brazilian Portuguese). April 10, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
25. Godoy, Marcelo (April 11, 2019). "Quem paga a conta do silêncio de Bolsonaro sobre os '80 tiros' são os militares e o Exército". Estadão (in Brazilian Portuguese).
26. Iraheta, Diego (April 11, 2019). "Danilo Gentili mereceu solidariedade de Bolsonaro. Evaldo Rosa, não". HuffPost Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
27. "Porta-voz chama morte de músico em carro fuzilado de "incidente" e diz que Bolsonaro não manifestou pesar". Fórum (in Brazilian Portuguese). April 10, 2019. Archived from the original on April 10, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
28. "Witzel chama de "erro grosseiro" ação militar que metralhou músico no Rio". UOL (in Brazilian Portuguese). April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
29. "'O Exército não matou ninguém, não', diz Bolsonaro sobre morte de músico no Rio". Folha de S.Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese). April 12, 2019. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
30. "Morre catador ferido ao tentar ajudar músico fuzilado com 80 tiros do Exército – Brasil". Estadão (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved April 20, 2019.
31. "Dois anos e meio depois, Justiça Militar começa a julgar acusados pelas mortes de músico e catador de latinhas em Guadalupe, Rio". g1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). October 13, 2021. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
32. "Caso Evaldo: Justiça condena 8 militares por mortes de músico e catador" (in Brazilian Portuguese). October 14, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2021.

• Unsolved murders in Brazil
• 2019 murders in Brazil
• Deaths by firearm in Brazil
• Deaths by person in Brazil