A husband and his pregnant wife were fatally shot as they collected items for their baby shower.
Police believe Ygor Dante Santos and Ariane Anselmo Cortes were killed after being mistaken for someone else.
The crime happened on Wednesday (29 Apr) afternoon when armed criminals invaded an area in search of militia members operating there.
READ MORE: Vicious brawl erupts on packed subway as OAP floors younger woman in row over seat
Relatives say the couple had gone to the area to pick up items for a baby shower due to take place in the coming days.
Ariane’s mother, Lucinéia Anselmo, told local media: “She went out with her husband to pick up the small giveaway gifts for the party guests.
“They were going to come back so we could put together the little gifts for the tables. We were going to do it all together.”
The shots that hit the couple were fired by people on a red motorbike, who then fled the scene, according to witnesses.
Responding officers found Ygor, 29, dead at the scene in the Terreirão area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Ariane, 32, was taken to hospital, but she and her unborn baby also died.
The couple’s first child was not with them at the time.
Lucinéia said: “When we were at the hospital and found out they had even tried to save the child, the doctor said the baby had also been shot.
“She was shot in the stomach, it hit the baby, and they couldn’t save the baby either.”
Police are working on the theory that Ygor may have been mistaken for a militia member, as reported by Need To Know.
In Rio, militias are organised armed groups, often made up of off-duty or former police officers, firefighters, or security personnel.
They typically control territory, run extortion schemes, operate illegal utilities, and sometimes clash with drug trafficking gangs for control of neighbourhoods.
About two weeks before the tragedy, Ariane had posted a video on social media announcing her pregnancy, celebrating: “From two hearts, one was made. We were three and suddenly became four.”
Ygor worked in e-commerce, while Ariane was a biomedical scientist. Their funeral will be held today (1 May).
Lucinéia said: “I want to know what goes through the mind of a criminal who sees a girl with a belly like that and shoots – even shoots at her stomach. What kind of person does that?”
READ MORE: Wild boar injures three after tearing through city ‘like a tank’
