Husband of Kalunga employee is arrested after shooting attack; police point to jealousy as motivation

A 33-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of shooting employees at a stationery store in Santos, on the coast of São Paulo. According to the Civil Police, he is the husband of an employee at the establishment and committed the attack out of jealousy.

The crime occurred on Thursday night (12), at the Kalunga stationery store, located on Avenida Ana Costa, in the Vila Mathias neighborhood. According to the Military Police (PM), the employees had just finished work when they were surprised by the armed man. His identity was not released by police.

A monitoring camera caught the entire criminal action. In the video, it is possible to see the moment when the shooter arrives on a motorcycle, waits for the victims outside the establishment, shoots and runs away.

Based on the images and other elements of the investigation, the team from the 2nd Police District (DP) of Santos identified the suspect less than 24 hours after the attempted murder.

The police requested a temporary arrest warrant, which was issued by the Court and served on Friday (13), at his home, in São Vicente. The man confessed to the crime and said he bought the 38 caliber revolver illegally in Praia Grande.

The gun was found hidden in the crawlspace of his mother's house in the Northwest Zone of Santos, along with 24 other rounds of ammunition.

According to the Civil Police, the suspect believed that his wife was having an affair with the manager of the establishment, where she has worked for seven years. He asked the woman several times, who always denied any romantic involvement.

"He didn't have any proof in relation to this, but he was completely sure in his head that the two would actually have a relationship", explained the delegate of the 2nd DP, Jorge Álvaro Cruz, in an interview with TV Tribuna, a Globo affiliate.

According to Cruz, the man confessed to the crime and said he regretted it. "He even claimed that he just wanted to scare him. He had no intention of killing him, but he ended up hitting the boy and he even fired another three shots."

The suspect has no criminal record and worked as a cashier at the pedestrian crossing between Santos and Guarujá.

A stationery employee was shot in the arm, while the man the suspect targeted was shot in the chest. The third injured man managed to escape the shots, but fell while trying to take cover. He had bruises, but did not need medical attention.

The man whose arm was hit was taken to the Central Emergency Care Unit (UPA) and was discharged after treatment. The second victim shot was taken to Santa Casa de Santos, where he remains hospitalized.

In a statement, Kalunga informed that it deeply regrets what happened. The company also stated that it is in contact with the employees' families, providing the necessary support and assistance at this time.

"The company is available to the authorities to collaborate with the investigations. Kalunga expresses its solidarity with its employees and their families and wishes them a speedy recovery."