Burning lights, shots on bricks and blood on the ground show traces of the massacre that shook the UK

The lights in the bar and a bottle of beer left on the table show the traces of the massacre that rocked the municipality of Campo Ere, in the far west of Santa Catarina. On the porch of the house where two of the four people were killed, one can also see overturned shoes, discarded clothes, bloodstains on the floor and bullet holes on the bricks.

There are traces of gunshots on the bricks and walls of the house. – Photo: Willian Ricardo/ND

The peaceful community on November 12 experienced moments of terror last Saturday (November 21), when two men attacked a bar and a house. In total, nine people were injured, four died.

Carlos Delfino dos Santos, 63, born in Saudades; Emidia dos Santos, 53, was born in Campo-Era; Marinalva dos Santos, aged 18, daughter of Emidia; and Ana Claudia Schultz, 35, a native of Saltinho, were victims of the crime. Carlos and Emidia were Marinalva’s parents, but the relationship between the family and Ana Claudia was not revealed.

The crime took place around 21:30, when two brothers, aged 32 and 38, arrived to shoot. They went along the road to a house located 40 meters from the bar, and there they killed a man and a woman. They then returned to the bar, where they killed the mother and daughter. A total of nine people were injured.

According to the Prime Minister (military police), three other men aged 26, 41 and 51 were injured, two of whom did not seek medical attention, and one had to be taken to the city hospital for a health assessment. Two women were also victims of the attack, but police did not say if they were injured.

Emidia dos Santos, 53, was born in Campo-Era; Marinalva dos Santos, aged 18, daughter of Emidia; and Ana Claudia Schultz, 35, from Saltinho. – Photo: Montage from photo/Internet/Disclosure/ND

Family problems

Two suspects in the murder have been arrested. The 38-year-old man was arrested on Saturday and the 32-year-old surrendered himself to the Saltinho civilian police on Monday morning (23).

According to the head of the civilian police, Vilterma Negrao, during interrogation, the man confessed to the authorship of the crimes and said that he had been hiding in the forest since the day of the murders.

On the bar table, the bottle remains in the same place. – Photo: Willian Ricardo/ND

Early this Monday morning, the man went to his home, the farm he worked on, located on Linya Skopel Street, in the inner part of Saltinho municipality, and asked his boss to accompany him to the military police group in the city center.

A warrant for provisional arrest, which had already been issued by the civilian police shortly after the massacre, was executed on the spot. The man presented a 12 GA gun, which he said was to be used in the crime.

Seven rounds of the same caliber were delivered with her. The delegate explained that the provisional arrest was temporary and, since it was a serious crime, would be for a period of 30 days, renewable for the same period. In addition, preventive detention may be ordered.

According to Negrao, the man pleaded guilty. He said that family circumstances were the motive, which the delegate did not specify. He also claimed that before the shooting he was attacked by one of the men, who was subsequently killed. He also claimed that he acted in self-defence.

At the end of the statement to the Civil Police, the man expressed regret. After interrogation, he was sent to the UPA (Forward Prison Section) of São José do Cedro. The investigation continues to find out the facts.

Neighbors heard shots

“I went to get a case of beer from the freezer, and when I put the key in the door [do mercado] to open I heard gunfire. I was scared because here, as far as we knew, no one had any enmity.” Report from the merchant Gonçalves da Silva, who heard the shots of the massacre.

The merchant has a market next to the bar and the house where it all happened. Nine people were injured in total, according to police. He recalls moments of tension he experienced. Shortly before the shooting started, he was playing truco at the bar, but decided to go home.

Another part of the victims was killed and ended up in the wine cellar. – Photo: Willian Ricardo/ND

“Looks like something told me. I had a spiritual feeling to leave and I returned home. Perhaps he, too, could have been injured (sic),” comments Gonçalves.

He was a neighbor of the victims and claims that they were all good people. The coexistence was harmonious and many times they were the first customers of the day in the market. Hearing the shots, he asked his wife not to leave the house, and they both hid, fearing a stray bullet.

“It was scary. There were a lot of shots, from a revolver, out of 12. We have never seen anything like this,” he says.