Brazil courtroom video shows son shoot father’s killer six times during trial

World news

Of Richard Pollina

A disturbing video shows the moment a revenge-seeking son shoots his father’s accused killer dead in the middle of a courtroom.

Cristiano Alves Terto, 27, was seen firing six shots into Francisco Cleidivaldo Mariano De Moura, 38, during a jury session for his father’s murder trial in São José do Belmonte, Brazil, according to CNN Brasil.

Footage from inside the courtroom shows Terto lunging forward with a .38 caliber revolver aimed directly at De Moura – who is standing just feet away from a juror and a lawyer – and firing at least two shots as he accuse

The rest of the courtroom descends into chaos as jurors and members of the court scatter as the vengeful Terto unleashes his fury on De Moura.

Terto then fired another volley at De Moura from head-on range as he stumbled to the ground, trying to take cover from the hail of bullets.

De Moura ducked behind a desk while Terto continued to fire until the six-shooter was empty.

Moments later, De Moura collapses to the floor behind the magistrate’s bench, but Terto then rushes in and angrily hits him twice in the head with the gun, the video shows.

The gun-wielding son then flees the courtroom as two women who tried to pull him away from De Moura as he punched him are seen panicking in disbelief.

He was then chased by police and arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, the Pernambuco Military Police told CNN Brasil.

The disturbing incident took place on November 29, but the video of the shooting was not released to the public until Monday. Terto was jailed the next day and has remained in prison ever since.

De Moura was rushed to a local hospital and survived the shooting, but was shortly thereafter transferred to another facility about 250 miles away from the courthouse.

The son tried to kill his father’s accused killer after De Moura allegedly shot his father, Francisco Alves, in October 2012 at his home in Lagoa Alexandre.

De Moura allegedly confessed to killing Terto’s father after he was looking for one of his donkeys that had strayed from his property.

Alves was at his farm when De Moura came to ask about his missing farm animal, to which the murdered father allegedly told him to “get off my property, you filthy thief”, according to The Sun.

Alves allegedly grabbed a wooden stick and walked toward De Moura, the outlet reported, and as he approached, De Moura pulled out his weapon and fired a warning shot.

When the father did not stop, De Moura fired two more warning shots before striking Alves in the abdomen.

Alves was rushed to hospital but died 18 days later, according to The Sun.

De Moura fled to Salgueiro – a town about 200 miles away from Lagoa Alexandre – but was eventually arrested by the police.

It is not known how long De Moura was on the loose before he was captured and what delayed the trial for the nearly 12-year-old crime.

According to a court statement on Tuesday, De Moura is “alive and free” following the shooting involving Terto.

As for De Moura’s trial for Alves’ murder, it remains unclear when it will continue.

“The jury has not been reconvened and a new date has not yet been set,” Pernambuco’s Court of Justice said in a statement regarding De Moura’s original trial, according to a local Brazilian agent.