‘Stay at home’: Chilling message warns Brazilians of revenge murders

THEY received a frightening message, warning them to stay at home. Hours later, there were 10 bloodied bodies on the streets.

“THERE’S no stopping any of us,” read the chilling WhatsApp message circulating through a town in northern Brazil. “The boys are on the loose.”

That night, 10 people were killed.

The murders in the town of Belem were allegedly acts of revenge by police officers for the death of one of their own.

And the terrifying warning was not a one-off — it is one of numerous messages circulating on social media following a surge of vigilante justice in Brazil.

Disturbing messages from an unknown source flooded WhatsApp.

A video of gang members threatening to kill police officers appeared on Facebook this week.

It was followed by footage of someone who was apparently a policeman, wearing a Scream mask and vowing to kill at least 30 gang members.

The latest spate of violence began after policeman Antonio Marcos da Silva Figueiredo, 43, was shot in the town of Belem last Tuesday.

Within hours, the BBC reported, residents began receiving text messages and an audio clip that said: “Don’t go to Guama, Canudos or Terra Firme tonight. It concerns your security. One of our policemen was killed and we will be cleaning the area.

"Classes suspended tonight, bodies in the streets, population locked up at home". https://t.co/dBQxmpByBO #ChacinaEmBelem #SlaughterInBelem

— #FreeTenharim (@PersonalEscrito) November 5, 2014

“There’s no stopping any of us, not even the highest colonel. The boys are on the loose. Please stay at home. Don’t go hanging out on street corners.”

A mixture of fact, fiction and rumour began circulating online under the hashtag #ChacinaEmBelem, meaning “Massacre in Belem”.

Witnesses said killers then went on a six-hour motorbike shooting spree, dragging victims from vehicles and gunning them down execution-style.

Sickening video and images began circulating apparently showing relatives and friends sobbing over bloodied bodies discarded in the streets that night.

#ChacinaEmBelem counter terroristas 9 x 1 terroristas !! counter terroristas wins !!!

— Ivan Kinght Falls (@IvanKinghtFalls) November 5, 2014

Joao Batista, 19, told the BBC that friends of his who live in the areas mentioned had received messages like this before, but “this is the first time I remember seeing something like this spread right around the city and cause such fear.”

Walrimar Sousa, a spokesman for the state Civil Police in Belém, told the Wall Street Journal: “All of the murders are under investigation, and if there is any evidence that police officers were involved they will be investigated and held responsible. It is too early to say police were involved.”

Belem is a particularly violent city, even for Brazil, with 45 murders per 100,000 residents each year. The national average is 25.

Even the latter is extremely high, with the average number of killings per 100,000 standing at five in the US.

"Trending Brazil:00:55 AM BRT" 5. #ForaDebora 6. Guamá 7. Petit Gateau 8. Sandra 9. Belém 10. Enem

— TrendieBR - Trends (@TrendieBR) November 5, 2014

Vigilante justice is common under the strained justice system in Brazil, with police in Sao Paulo state killing one suspect for every 229 they arrested in 2012, according to government figures. That compares with one per 31,575 in the US in 2011.

Four officers were acquitted in August of shooting a suspected car thief, while several officers are awaiting trial for allegedly shooting to death seven patrons in a bar across the street from that incident.

Authorities are working to make the police more accountable, with new measures including having victims taken to hospital by ambulance rather than police car.

In the meantime, criminals and citizens are taking justice and protection into their own hands through social media.