A teenage footballer has been shot dead in shocking circumstances.
Kauan Galdino Florêncio Pereira was confirmed brain dead on 2 January – just one day after he was attacked.
His family told local press that the crime was allegedly committed after the 18-year-old “stepped on the foot of a drug dealer”.
They have since decided to donate the teen’s organs including his liver and kidneys.
In an emotional clip, staff at the General Hospital of Nova Iguaçu, in Brazil, wheel the footballer’s body through a corridor on his way to theatre.
Dozens of people stand to the side and clap to show their gratitude toward his family’s choice.
The organ recovery operation took place on the morning of 4 January – it marked the first organ collection in the city of Rio de Janeiro for 2025, as reported by Need To Know.
In a statement, the City of Nova Iguaçu reported that the organs will be delivered to patients waiting in the transplant queue.
It is not publicly known which patients received the organs from Pereira as Brazilian legislation does not allow the identification of the donor to beneficiary families.
Pereira’s death came as a devastating shock to his family who were with him when he was shot.
According to his father, Renato Periera, they were all celebrating the new year and had decided to go to a party.
The brutal incident took place at around 3am in the early hours of 1 January.
Renato’s son was also celebrating having received a message from the army that he was eligible to serve in the Parachute Infantry Brigade in 2025.
The proud father said that his son jumped and danced with joy at the time of receiving the news, and that he had two dreams – to become a paratrooper or a professional football player.
The police is currently investigating the incident, including whether the alleged perpetrator of the crime has been killed – following an order from a Brazilian criminal organisation called the ‘Red Command’.
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