Candelaria church massacre

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The Candelaria church massacre was a criminal act that took place in the Roman Catholic "Candelaria church", in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 23, 1993.

The Candelaria church holds Sunday mass and other typical services of the Catholic religion. It is famous around Rio de Janeiro for being a makeshift home to perhaps hundreds of homeless children, many of whom are involved in drugs, prostitution and other crimes. The church's personnel provides food, shelter, education and religious advice to as many of these children as possible. The Brazilian police keep a constant vigil on the church's surroundings.

[edit] The massacre

According to some survivors, the morning of the day before the massacre, a young group of children happened to throw stones at police cars. Some policemen told them something like "don't worry, we will get you soon!". As children from the Candelaria church were usually given warnings such as these by policemen, the young perpetrators left without worrying too much about the threat.

At midnight, a few cars came to a halt in front of the Candelaria church. Next, gunfire shots were heard. The children tried to cover up, but eight of them were shot to death, with several others wounded. One of the children, Sandro Rosa do Nascimento, went on to commit another one of Brazil's most infamous crimes.

The international community severely condemned the attack, and many in Brazil asked for the prosecution of those who shot the Candelaria church children.

[edit] Aftermath

Fifty officers were accused of the massacre. 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 life sentences. However, they could potentially avoid the imprisonment, as Brazilian law says that anyone who gets a sentence of twenty or more years in jail, automatically qualifies for a second trial.