The Candelária massacre ( pt, chacina da Candelária ) was a mass killing in

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Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, on July 23, 1993. During the night, eight homeless people, including six minors, were killed by a group of men beside the Candelária Church. Several of the men were members of the

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest a ...

and were tried for the killings, but only two were

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Background

The Candelária Church is a famous historic

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

church in central

. The church itself and the buildings around it in Pius X Square became known as a popular location for possibly hundreds of Rio de Janeiro's

street children Street children are poor or homeless children who live on the streets of a city, town, or village. Homeless youth are often called street kids or street child; the definition of street children is contested, but many practitioners and policyma ...

to form a makeshift home at night. The church's personnel provides food, shelter, education and religious advice to as many of these children as possible. Many of the homeless children are involved with the

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and prostitution, and because many of these children also live around the church during the day, police keep a constant watch on the church's surroundings. In the early 1990s, the area around the Candelária Church developed a high crime rate as street children increasingly began to commit criminal activities such as

pickpocketing Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft at the time. It may involve considerable dexterity and a knack for misdirection. A th ...

and

robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

Massacre

According to survivors, on the morning of July 22, 1993, the day before the massacre, a group of children threw stones at police cars. As the children from the Candelária Church area were usually only given warnings by policemen, the young perpetrators left without worrying too much about the threat. At midnight, several Chevrolet Chevette cars with covered license plates came to a halt in front of the Candelária Church, and the occupants began shooting at the group of roughly seventy street children sleeping in the vicinity of the church.

List of those killed

*Paulo Roberto de Oliveira, 11 years old *Anderson de Oliveira Pereira, 13 years old *Marcelo Cândido de Jesus, 14 years old *Valdevino Miguel de Almeida, 14 years old *"Gambazinho", 17 years old *Leandro Santos da Conceição, 17 years old *Paulo José da Silva, 18 years old *Marcos Antônio Alves da Silva, 20 years old

Aftermath

Six children and two adults were killed and numerous others were wounded outside the Candelária Church. Subsequently, during the investigations the shots were found to be fired by policemen, and fifty officers were accused of the

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

. One of them, Mauricio da Conceição, died during a shootout as he was about to be arrested in 1994. Two others, Marcos Emmanuel and Nelson Cunha, were handed sentences equivalent to

life sentences Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

. One of the children that survived that attack was supposedly shot several times before he could testify against policemen that were to go to

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribun ...

, and ended up fleeing from Brazil in order to save his life. The

international community The international community is an imprecise phrase used in geopolitics and international relations to refer to a broad group of people and governments of the world. As a rhetorical term Aside from its use as a general descriptor, the term is t ...

severely condemned the attack, and many in Brazil asked for the prosecution of those who shot the Candelária Church children. The event was addressed by the Brazilian death metal band Lacerated and Carbonized in the song "The Candelária Massacre" from their 2013 album ''The Core of Disruption''. Blaggers ITA did the same in their 1993 single "Oxygen" Blaggers ITA - Oxygen
/ref>

Survivors

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

who later tracked the fate of these homeless survivors of the Candelária massacre found out that eventually 39 of them were either killed by police or by elements of street life, and discusses this in the documentary ''

Bus 174 ''Bus 174'' ( pt, Ônibus 174) is a 2002 Brazilian documentary film. It is the directorial debut of director José Padilha and co-director Felipe Lacerda. Overview In 2000, Sandro do Nascimento, a young man from a poor background, held pass ...

'' about the Nascimento incident.

References

External links

Movie review and director interviewAmnesty International report and information
* ttp://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9612/09/brazil.street.kids/ ''Trial begins for Rio police accused of killing homeless kids'', CNN.com, December 9, 1996br>''Killing of 4 Beggars Shocks Rio And Recalls Earlier Massacre'', New York Times, December 12, 1997
{{DEFAULTSORT:Candelaria massacre Police brutality in Brazil 1993 in Brazil 20th century in Rio de Janeiro Mass murder in 1993 Massacres in 1993 July 1993 events in South America July 1993 crimes Mass shootings in Brazil Massacres in Brazil Massacres in religious buildings and structures Street children 1993 murders in Brazil 1993 mass shootings in South America