Man arrested on suspicion of killing young man during Catholic festival in Sobral, Ceará

An 18-year-old man was arrested this Friday (13), suspected of having killed a young man at the Peace Festival, in Sobral, Ceará. The suspect was captured in the Dom Expedito neighborhood, in the same municipality, which is in the Northern Region of the state.

The death interrupted the program of the Catholic festival that took place at Arena Aeroporto, on Monday night (9). The victim was hit by gunfire and died in the parking lot.

According to witnesses, the shooting victim was Antônio da Silva Mendes Neto, 20 years old. He was working in the parking lot, controlling vehicle access at Arena Aeroporto.

The suspect already had a criminal record for the crime of illegal possession of a firearm. The arrest was carried out by civil police officers from the 1st Civil Police Station of Sobral, through the Homicide and Personal Protection Unit (NHPP).

The suspect was captured in the Dom Expedito neighborhood, in Sobral. — Photo: Civil Police/Reproduction

Preliminary investigations indicate that the crime was motivated by a dispute between criminal groups operating in the municipality. With the suspect, civil police officers seized a cell phone that will be used to support further police investigations.

The action had the support of DPJI-Norte, the Intelligence Section of the 1st Section of the Interior North, the Department of Homicide and Personal Protection, the Department for the Repression of Organized Crime, the Department of Police Intelligence, CIOPS and the Municipal Traffic Secretariat of Sobral.

Festival was broadcast

A Catholic festival had its program interrupted by gunshots at Arena Aeroporto, in Sobral, in the interior of Ceará, on Monday night (9). A young man was hit by gunfire and died in the parking lot. The suspects fled.

The event was broadcast live on the internet, and the images recorded the moment when presenters and musicians interrupted the performance and crouched down on the stage to protect themselves from the gunfire.

When the shots stopped, people who were watching the event began to pray a Hail Mary. Then the live internet broadcast stopped and resumed about 5 minutes later.

Upon returning to the stage, the couple presenting the event calmed the audience and informed that the incident had not occurred inside the arena where the event was being held.

Antônio da Silva Mendes Neto, 20 years old, was shot dead in the parking lot of a place where a Catholic festival was taking place, in Sobral. — Photo: Mateus Ferreira/ Personal archive

"We just received from the production that we can remain calm, there was nothing here inside the festival Arena. Everything is under control. You can see some movement outside, but we want to ask everyone to remain calm, because we need to pray for peace", said the man who was on stage.

The organization of the Peace Festival lamented the young man's death and informed that it will maintain the program scheduled for this Tuesday.

"We fully sympathize with the victim and their families in this moment of pain, reaffirming our non-negotiable commitment to valuing life. [...] The Peace Festival was conceived, planned and executed with the clear purpose of contributing to the spread of the message of a better world", says an excerpt from the note released by the festival's organizers.

Parking lot death

After being hit by the shots, Antônio still ran to try to escape, but fell shortly afterwards, in an area behind where the stage was set up.

The governor of Ceará, Elmano de Freitas, in a post on social media, commented on the crime in the parking lot of the Catholic festival and informed that he will reinforce policing in the city.

"I ordered the Secretary of Security to send more police reinforcements, all the contingent and equipment that are necessary. And that they not leave Sobral until complete pacification. Zero tolerance for these criminals who threaten the peace", published Governor Elmano.