This story might sound like a scene from an action film or the fantasy of the classical American gunslinger, but it actually took place in Brasil. An off-duty military police officer gunned down two armed robbers inside a pharmacy while holding his infant son on his left arm.
The bloody incident transpired last Saturday when Sgt. Rafael Souza was out with his family at Bifarma in the center of the city of Campo Limpo Paulista in São Paulo. The family made a quick stop at a local pharmacy and while the pharmaceutical clerk was tending to the Sargeant’s wife, two gun-wielding men jostled into the establishment announcing that it was a robbery.
According to the reports, Souza immediately identified himself as a cop and 24-year-old suspect Jefferson Alves started pointing his gun at him. Souza who was clutching his baby boy under his arm used his free hand to draw his own gun and fired repeatedly against Alves in retaliation until he was slain.
Souza then turned his attention towards the other suspect who he started shooting at immediately after finishing Alves off, all this while still holding the baby. The video is then cut-off and when it returns we see Souza handing over the baby to his wife who was taking cover behind the shelves before he runs off on what we presume was to chase down 22-year-old suspect Italo Creato who was also shot and killed by Souza while trying to commit an armed robbery.
https://twitter.com/BigFurHat/status/932826935888986112
According to reports by the Independent Sgt. Souza of the 49th Metropolitan Battalion in São Paulo told authorities that he has no other choice but to draw first blood because after he had revealed himself as a police officer, the assailants were going to kill him.
After the fatal melee in the Praça Castelo Branco shopping center, paramedics arrived at the scene where they found the bullet-ridden bodies of Alves and Creato who were both pronounced dead at the scene.
Off-duty Brazil cop reportedly stops attempted robbery while holding child, if you know what i mean
— know what i mean (@if_u_know_) November 20, 2017
The weapons found at the scene are now being investigated by a forensic investigation team while the police study Saturday’s CCTV footage in order to get a better understanding of what really happened during the shooting.
On social media Souza has garnered a lot of support for his quick reactions, but has also come under criticism for endangering the life of the toddler, his son whom he was holding while shooting at the suspects.
Off-duty Brazil cop reportedly stops attempted robbery while holding child https://t.co/cWVZlMTtn9
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 20, 2017
Article inspired by New York Daily Post // Off-duty cop shoots, kills two robbers while holding his baby boy