26 October 2005
Jose Maria Ramos da Silva
Shooting
José Maria Ramos da Silva, a driver employed by the "Diário do Nordeste" regional daily, was shot while accompanying two of its journalists on a visit to a slum in Fortaleza, in the northeastern state of Ceará.
The shooting occurred when Da Silva, 55, drove reporter Aécio Santiago and photographer José Leomar to a centre used by social workers in the slum of Favela dos Sandras, on the afternoon of 26 October, and waited for them outside. As the journalists emerged from the building on completing their work, they saw Da Silva being held up by a gunman. As they went to look for help, they heard shots. According to an autopsy, Da Silva was shot three times at close range, in the ear, chest and abdomen. He had also been struck in the face many times with great force.
