Cop Arrested After Stray Police Bullet Kills 5-Year-Old Girl

A cop in Brazil has been arrested after a bullet fired by him during a police operation hit and killed a 5-year-old girl.

The victim, identified as Ana Machado, was playing with a cousin outside her home in Niterói, a town in Rio de Janeiro, on Monday morning when the cops opened fire at some men linked to a series of robberies. Unfortunately, one of the bullets struck the girl.

The officers rushed the girl to a local hospital where she succumbed to injuries on the same day.

The police officer, whose identity was not revealed by local media, was taken into custody on Tuesday for homicide with possible intent. He is yet to confess to the crime, reported local news outlet Revista Forum.

Meanwhile, the weapons of all the other cops involved in the shooting have been seized by the police department.

In a press conference, the police department spokesperson said the officers had gone to the scene after receiving information on a string of robberies. The officers found the suspects, who allegedly fired at them before fleeing the scene.

However, according to Cristiane Gomes, the victim's mother, the suspects did not fire at the cops.

"One surrendered, and the police continued to shoot. From there, he managed to hit my daughter. The young man continued saying, 'I am a resident, I am a resident.' I ran to see my daughter who was on the floor. He went to talk to the young man and a policeman said to the other, 'You screwed up, you screwed up,'" Gomes told local news outlet G1 (Google Translate showed).

The girl was rushed to the hospital in a patrol car.

"I said in the car that he had killed my daughter, they kept saying no. My daughter was in agony...My daughter looked at me, I think she said goodbye to me. I think it was like, 'Bye, mom. I'm going, I can't take it'. She tried, but it didn't work," the victim's mother recalled.

The girl's funeral services were held on Wednesday. Local authorities are providing social and psychological assistance to her family.