Moment ‘robber’ in motorcycle helmet gets shot after trying to burglarize cell phone store
A man suspected of robbing a cell phone store in Brazil was shot multiple times by a worker seconds after he entered.
The suspected thief entered the store wearing a motorcycle helmet and appeared to pull a gun.
He immediately approached a female employee who sat down before a male employee on the other side of the room pulled out his own gun and fired several shots at him.
The suspected robber then fell to the ground as the other workers took cover.
He was reportedly rushed to hospital in ‘very serious condition’ and the employee was taken to a nearby police station to make a statement before being released.
A man suspected of robbing a cell phone store in Brazil was shot multiple times by a worker seconds after entering
The incident was captured on CCTV footage and the suspect walks into the mobile phone shop.
He is holding what appears to be a firearm as he approaches a female employee at her desk.
The suspected robber takes a few more steps before a male worker pulls out his gun and fires several shots at him.
He then stumbles backwards before finally falling to the ground where he lies still.
While the other three employees run and take cover amid the gunfire.
The alleged thief was rushed to hospital in a ‘very serious condition’.
The male employee who shot him reportedly made a statement at a nearby police station before being released without charges.
It is not clear in which city or in which store the shooting took place.
Brazil’s gun laws were relaxed during President Jair Bolsonaro’s term in office from 2019 to 2022.
He said “good citizens” should have the right to protect their families and their property, and relaxed rules on the possession of weapons and ammunition.
The suspected thief entered the store wearing a motorcycle helmet and appeared to pull a gun
He walked up to a female employee, who sat down before a male employee pulled out his own firearm and fired several shots at him
Although Brazil has no constitutional right to bear arms, Bolsonaro argued that “an armed population will never be enslaved.”
But in July 2023, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a decree tightening restrictions on civilian access to weapons.
Estimates of the number of guns in civilian hands have more than tripled to 2.9 million in a country of 214 million, according to the Instituto Sou da Paz, a nonprofit that monitors public security.
That remains much lower than in the United States, and despite the increase in guns, Brazil’s homicide rate remained stable during Bolsonaro’s term.
The number of homicides during his last year in office, 2022, was about 47,500, about the same as in 2019, according to a report by the Brazilian Forum for Public Security.