Candelária massacre

The Candelária massacre (Portuguese: chacina da Candelária [ʃɐˈsĩnɐ ðɐ kɐ̃deˈlaɾjɐ]) was an event in Rio de Janeiro, beside the Candelária Church, on the night of July 23, 1993. Eight young people were killed by a group of men, several of which were members of the police. The men were tried for the killings, but only two of them were convicted.

The Candelária is a famous Roman Catholic church. The marquises of the buildings around it, in the Pius X Square, are known in Rio de Janeiro for being a makeshift home at night to possibly hundreds of homeless children, many of whom are involved with illegal drug trade and prostitution. The church's personnel provides food, shelter, education and religious advice to as many of these children as possible. Because many of the homeless also live around the Church during the day, police keep a constant vigil on the church's surroundings.

In the early 1990s the area developed a high crime rate as some of the homeless engaged in criminal activities such as pickpocketing, theft, etc.

According to survivors, the morning of the day before the massacre, a group of children threw stones at police cars. Some of the policemen allegedly told them, "don't worry, we will get you soon!" As children from the Candelária church were usually given warnings such as these by policemen, the young perpetrators left without worrying too much about the threat.

At midnight, a few cars came to a halt in front of the Candelária church. Next, shots were heard. The children tried to take cover, but eight of them were shot to death and several others wounded. One of the children present that night, Sandro Rosa do Nascimento, later hijacked a bus in an incident that was widely televised throughout all of Brazil.

The international community severely condemned the attack, and many in Brazil asked for the prosecution of those who shot the Candelária church children.

Eight street children were killed when policemen shot at a group of about seventy street children as they slept beside the Candelária. One of the children that survived that attack was shot several times before he could testify against the military policemen that were to go to trial. He ended up fleeing from Brazil in order to save his life. Three military policemen were charged in the killings, but only one was convicted.

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Wikipedia