Police shoot teen while he is down during pharmacy robbery attempt in São Paulo, Brazil.
NEWS:
A 17-year-old was shot by military police while he was on the ground at the entrance of a pharmacy during an attempted robbery in Pirituba, São Paulo, Brazil, on the night of May 19, 2026.
Video from the scene shows the teenager lying at the partially closed entrance of the pharmacy as a police officer fires at him. Another officer then enters the business, where a second teenager is detained.
The images directly establish that the 17-year-old was on the ground when the police gunfire shown in the recording occurred. The footage does not independently establish what the teenager was doing with a weapon immediately before or at the precise moment police opened fire.
Police said the two teenagers were 17 and 15 years old and had entered the pharmacy on Avenida Santa Mônica to commit a robbery.
According to the police account, officers from the 49th Metropolitan Military Police Battalion were patrolling the area when people nearby alerted them that a robbery was taking place inside the business.
The pharmacy owner said he had recently closed the establishment, at approximately 00:8:30 p.m., when someone knocked on the door. Believing the person outside could be someone he knew, he opened the entrance.
Two youths then entered and announced the robbery. The owner reported that at least one of them was carrying a handgun.
Accounts from the pharmacy owner said his personal cellphone and the business phone were taken. The assailants also attempted to obtain money through electronic bank transfers during the robbery.
A person outside the pharmacy noticed suspicious activity and alerted police.
When officers reached the establishment, the front entrance was partially closed. Later accounts said the teenagers attempted to lower the metal shutter after noticing police outside and that one of them became caught or positioned beneath the opening.
Police said the 17-year-old was armed when officers confronted him.
According to the official version provided after the incident, the teenager pointed a handgun toward the police team, prompting officers to fire.
That allegation comes from the police account. The publicly released video begins with the teenager already low to the ground or lying near the entrance and does not clearly establish whether he was pointing the weapon at officers before the visible police gunfire.
The recording shows a police officer aiming toward the teenager and firing while the youth remains on the ground at the doorway.
Police recovered a .38-caliber handgun associated with the wounded teenager.
The 17-year-old was taken to Hospital Geral de Taipas after the shooting.
Initial information released on the morning of May 20 said he remained hospitalized under observation. Another account described his condition as serious and said he underwent surgery.
Public information about his subsequent medical condition changed later that day.
A later report published on the afternoon of May 20 stated that the teenager died from his injuries at the hospital. The earlier account had not reported his death and instead listed him as hospitalized.
The second teenager, 15, remained inside the pharmacy during the police intervention and was detained.
A later police-linked account said the teenager surrendered without resistance. Officers also recovered R$100 that the pharmacy owner identified as money taken during the robbery, and the amount was returned.
The 15-year-old was taken to a police station and remained available to Brazil's juvenile justice authorities.
The case was registered at São Paulo's 33rd Police District in Pirituba.
Police records classified the occurrence as an act equivalent to attempted robbery involving minors and bodily injury resulting from police intervention.
Forensic examinations were requested after the shooting.
The São Paulo Public Security Secretariat also said footage from body cameras worn by the military police officers involved in the operation was being analyzed and would be added to the investigation.
The body-camera recordings are potentially significant because the video circulating publicly captures only part of the police intervention and does not show the entire sequence immediately before the visible shots.
The external footage proves that the teenager was already on the ground when an officer fired at him. It does not by itself resolve the police claim that the teenager had pointed the recovered handgun toward officers moments earlier.
The robbery itself was also supported by the pharmacy owner's account. He said the two youths entered after he opened the door, threatened him with a firearm, took phones and attempted financial transactions.
No injuries to the pharmacy owner were reported.
The second teenager was apprehended without being shot.
No reliable subsequent public information located for this case announced a final judicial ruling involving the surviving teenager or disclosed the conclusion of the forensic review of the police shooting.
The publicly released information also did not provide a final finding on whether the police use of deadly force complied with operational rules.
The investigation included the recovered handgun, forensic examinations, witness accounts, the publicly circulated recording and the officers' body-camera footage.
News story written by DarkGore.
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