Prison officer Jorge José da Rocha Guaranho invaded a party and shot dead the boy whose birthday it was, municipal guard Marcelo Arruda, on the night of Saturday 9, in Foz do Iguaçu, in the state of Paraná , in the southern region of Brazil. The event celebrated the 50th anniversary of Arruda, who was affiliated with the local Workers’ Party (PT) and had a themed commemoration with party flags and photos of Lula da Silva, former president and pre-presidential candidate . Afterwards, Arruda retaliated by punching Guaranho, who is in hospital in custody.
According to eyewitness accounts and initial police investigations, the party brought together around 40 guests at the headquarters of the Associação Esportiva Saúde Física Itaipu. Around 11 p.m., Guaranho invaded the venue, accompanied by his wife and son, and began insulting those at the party and shouting “here is Bolsonaro” among other slogans. The birthday boy did not know the invader, the guests guarantee.
“We thought he was a guest, because there were also bolsonarists at the party, Marcelo was in the kitchen and we went to call him to welcome the man, that’s when we saw that they weren’t friends and it wasn’t a joke, then he [Guaranho] drove around, insulted whoever was there and said he was coming back to finish everyone off, Marcelo had a beer in his hand and threw it at him to kick him out of the place” , Arruda’s friend André Alliana told the UOL portal.
“In fear, Arruda went to the car and came back with a gun,” Alliana said. “Fifteen minutes later, the guy [Guaranho] came back alone. Marcelo’s wife, who is a policeman, tried to stop him from entering the party but he started shooting and hit Marcelo in the leg and chest, Marcelo also managed to shoot him.”
Arruda leaves behind a wife and four children, including a baby. A member of the PT, he was a candidate for deputy mayor of Foz do Iguaçu for the party in 2020. Guaranho, who was even presumed dead by police but remains stable in hospital, was active on social media in support in Bolsonaro.
Lula reacted via social media. “A person, out of intolerance, threatened and then shot his companion Marcelo, who defended himself and avoided a greater tragedy. Two families lost their parents. (…) My feelings and my solidarity with the family, the friends and companions of Marcelo Arruda”.
“Wrapped up in hate speech and dangerously armed by the official policy of the current president, which daily stimulates confrontation, conflict, the attack of opponents, any people maddened by this project of death and destruction turns into aggressor or assassin”, reacted PT.
Other presidential candidates, such as Ciro Gomes (PDT) and Simone Tebet (MDB) also condemned what happened. Jair Bolsonaro said a moment ago that he dispenses “any type of support from those who practice violence against opponents, to this type of people, I ask that, out of consistency, change sides and support the left, which has an undeniable history of violent episodes”. ”.