Brazil cop shoots wife, 2 daughters and in-laws dead

A retired policeman shot dead five members of his family before committing suicide in a rural area of the southern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, authorities announced on Saturday.

The six bodies were found overnight on the outskirts of the town of Extrema, after neighbours called the cops after hearing gunshots, the country’s military police said.

The military police announced that the policeman had killed his wife, 53, his 14-year-old daughter, his adopted daughter of 12, and his two in-laws before taking his own life.

It is believed the cop’s wife was seeking a divorce, which he did not accept. The woman had then taken the daughters to live at her parents’ house in Extrema, where he arrived during the night.

The police also indicated that the two in-laws were shot dead in the kitchen, the two children were killed in their bedrooms, while the wife was murdered in a bathroom where she had locked herself to try to save her life.

xinhua