Brazil gun crime in focus after surfer dies

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Two police investigations are under way in Brazil into the alleged shooting of a world-class surfer by an off-duty officer.

Ricardo dos Santos, 24, was shot three times on Tuesday after an argument broke out close to his beachside home in Florianopolis, a city in southern Brazil's Santa Catarina state. His death on Wednesday brought high levels of gun crime in Brazil into sharp focus.

Former world champion surfer Kelly Slater said: "This was truly a senseless loss of life. It unfortunately brings to light the number of murders yearly in Brazil, officially documented at over 50,000 with many thousands more going unreported. Lack of education, poverty and drugs don't make for a good mix and make life challenging in this country, one of the most beautiful and scariest places I've been."

Reports were conflicted over what caused the row, with some witnesses claiming Dos Santos had approached a military policeman identified as Luis Paulo Mota Brentano and his 17-year-old brother to ask him to move his car. Other versions suggested Dos Santos was shot after approaching two men openly taking drugs near his home.

A suspect reportedly told police he acted in self-defence over fears dos Santos had a knife, though no weapon was found at the scene.

Dos Santos' management team described the shooting as "cowardly and senseless". It left his hometown in mourning, with many fellow surfers leaving the beach and displaying cards and banners in protest at the violence. "Mourning in paradise," said one poster put up in the centre of the beach neighbourhood of Guarda do Embau. Military and civil police in Santa Catarina have launched inquiries.

Studies in 2000 found that there were more than 32,500 deaths from firearms with estimates of the total legal and illegal guns in Brazil ranging from 16.8 million to 17.6 million.

Gustavo Oliveira, a former surf judge and photographer, said dos Santos had recently been concerned by the increase in drug use at the picturesque beach close to where he lived. "Ricardo had campaigned a lot through the media, asking for people to help Guarda become a peaceful place again," Oliveira said. "He was a friend of everybody ... he was always the same, always smiling."

Scene examination
• A locksmith, named by local media as Walter, said a back door to Nisman's 13th-floor, guarded residence in Buenos Aires was accessible to "anyone" using basic tools or a key.
• Police are also examining a footprint and fingerprint in a passage where air conditioning units are located that abuts a neighbour's apartment.
• Investigators are examining CCTV footage of the area around Nisman's apartment building.

- Independent