After the horrors reported by the nation’s media yesterday´, a statement from PJ police in Porto has made a complete about turn, denying the death of a 14-year-old following his brutal attack by another teen in Baguim do Monte, Gondomar, on Saturday night (click here).
Hugo Gonçalves is instead in hospital “in a very serious condition”, the PJ reveals.
According to Lusa, he is “brain dead” – thus the exact clinical situation is still something of a mystery.
Público broke the ‘mistake’ just before lunchtime today with the headline: “In the end, the young man attacked in Gondomar is alive.”
There has been no explanation as to why a PSP statement put the youngster’s time of death at 3am on Sunday, nor why this version of events was also shared on social media by the boy’s family members and friends.
For now, we await updates as Mário Nunes – variously described as “a 17-year-old” and “aged 16” (depending on which papers one reads) – has already handed himself in to police, confessing to the beating.
Nunes was accompanied by family members when he gave himself up and described as “crying convulsively”.
National tabloid Correio da Manhã claims Nunes “alleged he only wanted to defend himself”.
CM adds that the youth used his “house keys” and a knuckleduster to hit his victim, and that Gonçalo’s girlfriend was also hurt in the attack.
UPDATE:
Sadly, the precipitous announcement of Huge Gonçalves’ death has now been officially confirmed. The boy did not die on Sunday morning, as first reported, but he has since lost his fight for life. The boy’s death was confirmed by Porto’s Court of Criminal Instruction today (Tuesday August 30).
Mário Nunes, meantime, remains in custody and faces the charge of qualified murder.
