Multi-champion jiu-jitsu fighter, 33, was shot in the head in the early hours of Saturday and Sunday and was taken to hospital, but confirmed brain death. Witnesses point to military police as the perpetrator.
The jiu-jitsu world woke up this morning to tragic news. Leandro Lo, multiple world champion in the gentle art and one of the biggest names in the sport, was shot in the head during a party at Clube Sírio, in São Paulo, in the early hours of Saturday and Sunday. The fighter was taken to the Municipal Hospital Dr. Arthur Ribeiro de Saboya, but was confirmed brain dead.
Combate.com had access to the incident report, which identifies the military police officer Henrique Otávio Oliveira Velozo as the author of the shooting and was registered as an attempted murderer. Check out the description of the event made by the Military Police of São Paulo, even before the confirmation of the athlete’s brain death.
“Preliminarily, this is an incident involving the multi-time world champion of jiu-jitsu Leandro Ló Pereira do Nascimento and the military police officer Henrique Otávio Oliveira Velozo. As witnesses report, police officer Henrique, after a brief discussion, went to the table of the victim Leandro, taking a bottle from the table, in a continuous act the victim got up, took the bottle from the author’s hand and, in a struggle, knocked him down and immobilized him. At this moment, the victim’s colleagues separated both and asked: “to leave it alone”. The author, after getting up, went around the table and, facing the victim, drew his gun and fired a shot, which hit the frontal region of the victim’s head (forehead, left side). very serious at the Dr. Arthur Ribeiro de Saboya Municipal Hospital.”
According to information from the São Paulo Military Police press office, a case was opened at 1:57 am. According to G1, he was identified but is on the run, and Lo’s family lawyer, Ivã Siqueira Junior, confirmed the victim’s brain death. The reporter contacted the São Paulo Health Department, but Lo’s family did not authorize the agency to release any information.
The São Paulo Public Security Secretariat issued a note on the matter:
“A 33-year-old jiu-jitsu fighter was shot by an off-duty military policeman, 30, in the early hours of this Sunday (7), at a club on Avenida Indianópolis, in the Saúde neighborhood, south of the capital. that there was an argument between the two and the policeman shot the victim. The fighter was taken to Saboya Hospital, remaining hospitalized in serious condition.
The case was registered as attempted murder by the 16th DP (Vila Clementino), which is investigating the facts by means of a police investigation. The police authority represented for the preventive arrest of the author before Justice. The Military Police regrets what happened. The institution has initiated an administrative investigation and collaborates with the searches to locate the author.”
Esporte Clube Sírio, which hosted the show in which the incident took place, issued a clarification note this Saturday.
“Note of Clarification
SPORT CLUBE SIRIO sympathizes with the family of Mr. LEANDRO PEREIRA DO NASCIMENTO LO, for the regrettable incident that occurred in the early hours of August 7, 2022, in an event held by third parties.
We inform you that we are collaborating with the authorities responsible for the investigation and we hope that the incident will be clarified as soon as possible.
Amelia Warner
Amelia Warner– After graduating from NYU with a master's degree in history, She was also a columnist for many local newspapers. Amelia Warner mostly covers Entertainment topics, but at times loves to write about movie reviews as well.