Child and grandmother targeted in drive-by shooting
A seven year old child is fighting for his life in hospital after being shot in the head in Setúbal at around 12.30pm today.
Information so far suggests the boy and his grandmother were targeted by a man driving a car past them in the Bela Vista neighbourhood of Setúbal.
The man appears to have shot the pair with a shotgun, and then continued driving.
The little boy was the worst hurt; the grandmother (or presumed grandmother) – described as in her 40s to 50s – is understood only to have received ‘light injuries’.
The child was initially rushed to the nearest hospital (Hospital de São Bernardo) and almost immediately transferred to Lisbon’s Santa Maria hospital – described by television stations carrying this story as the largest hospital in the country. His condition is said to be critical.
The incident has led to the PSP ‘intervention unit’ (involving dozens of police agents) making a second visit to Bela Vista today, “to guarantee safety in the area”.
The first visit had to do with a ‘dispute’ with which this incident appears to be connected.
With the investigation at its early stages, the situation at the Bela Vista police station is “calm”, reports SIC Notícias, “as it is in the neighbourhood”, although many residents are out on the streets, trying to understand what has just happened.
The bottom line is that the gunman on the loose, potentially still driving his car – and a ‘large police presence’ has been mobilised to try and locate him.
Update 5pm: child’s prognosis “very reserved”, he remains in intensive care in Santa Maria hospital with a police guard “as a measure of prevention”.
According to CNN Portugal, the shooter “wanted to shoot the boy’s father, but ended up hitting the child and his grandmother”.
Update Monday: According to Correio da Manhã tabloid, the shooter’s identity is well known (it is just a matter of police apprehending him). The child’s condition has been described by an official source as “brain dead” – but this has not been confirmed by Santa Maria Hospital.
