A 35-year-old man was fatally shot with a bullet to the chest in the early hours of Sunday morning in the Damaia area of Amadora (Sintra).
Despite being transported alive to Hospital de Amadora Sintra, he died shortly afterwards.
According to reports, police suspect the attack was racially motivated.
The victim, Carlos Cruz, from São Tomé had no police record. He had simply been ‘in the street’ with his girlfriend when the three men, wearing hoodies, approached.
To many Carlos Cruz’s nationality would be ‘just a detail’. But according to Jornal de Notícias, he was in an “area where relationships between two nationalities are not seen well” – and the girlfriend is Cape Verdean.
Indeed, the girlfriend claims to have recognised one of the attackers, and “has supplied his nickname”, adds JN – suggesting the man could be connected to a local gang.
The killing took place around 1.30am on Sunday in Rua de Fernão de Magalhães, in Damaia, and so far police have only one witness: the girlfriend.
The ‘singularity’ of this crime has been the absence of shell-casings at the scene, says JN.
“With all hypotheses open, the fact that the victim did not have a police record suggests this had nothing to do with a settling of scores over illicit business”, the paper adds.
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