World

Brazil: Possible serial killings target gays

by rahul | December 8, 2008 at 06:58 pm

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Another sad side of Brazilians come to surface. This time it is a serial killer who is supposed to be targeting gay people in Sao Paulo. Urban violence in Brazil is rather high for world standards. According to police, "13 gay men were killed there between February 2007 and August 2008".

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) - Brazilian police are investigating whether a possible serial killer is behind the murders of more than a dozen gay men in a park in suburban Sao Paulo. Police chief Paulo Fernando Fortunato tells the O Globo newspaper that 13 gay men were killed there between February 2007 and August 2008.
He says police are not sure whether a single person is responsible. Undercover police are now patrolling the park at night. Fortunato says he went public with the investigation to help warn people of the danger.
His comments were published Monday. Requests for police comment were not immediately answered.

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Rhonda J Mangus

at 05:02 on December 9th, 2008

rahul, thank you for this story. What I find 'sad' is that it took law enforcement so long to bring this matter to public attention. Personally, I don't think it takes the death of 13 gay men to realize that there is a pattern to the deaths, and lives may have been saved if Fortunato went public with the investigation sooner. Nevertheless, I am glad to know that patrols have been stepped up in the area. Brazil is a beautiful country, and is gay friendly overall.