A 10-year-old girl has died after allegedly being shot in the head by a prison guard during a road-rage row.
The youngster battled for life in hospital for over a month before succumbing to her injuries on Wednesday (16 Jul).
Lavínia Freitas de Oliveira e Souza was travelling as a passenger in her father’s car when they encountered the suspect on the road.
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They were returning from the victim’s grandparents house when the prison guard, named as Márcio da Silveira Coelho, 34, sped up to their vehicle.
The suspect then overtook the father, stopped the car and got out to confront him.
Believing he might be the victim of a robbery, the father sped away and the prison officer gave chase.
CCTV images appeared to show the suspect firing his gun from the driver’s window at the father’s car, as reported by Need To Know.
Sadly, a bullet struck the girl in the head in the municipality of Porto Firme located north of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 15 June.
The father told local media: “I passed a vehicle and drove off, but the driver started chasing me at high speed.
“I sped up to try to get to the nearest police station, but he kept going faster.
“The driver overtook me and got out.
“When he started shooting, I saw my daughter’s eyes were already rolling to the back of her head and she was bleeding heavily from the head.
“I couldn’t believe what was happening.
“My daughter is everything to me.”
Little Lavínia fought for her life for over a month at the Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Juiz de Fora Hospital.
At the time, the suspect testified that he was “blocked” on the road and that, feeling threatened, he fired.
He said he wasn’t aware that he actually hit anyone.
The prison officer was arrested at his home and his firearm was seized by the cops.
The investigation into Lavínia’s death is ongoing.
